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Q+A: July 29

ABC panel discusses Sydney extension, anti-lockdown rallies and impact on on arts, entertainment & tourism .

Virginia Trioli again hosts Q+A Live from Melbourne this week.

Sydney’s lockdown has been extended for another month, with NSW recording stubbornly high Covid case numbers all week. Friction has erupted between the Federal Government and NSW as Premier Gladys Berejiklian pushes for more vaccines while the PM seems to favour a harder lockdown. There are also fears of a new wave of infections following the weekend’s anti-lockdown rallies, in which thousands took the streets, mainly mask-less.

In south-west Sydney over one million people are in deep lockdown, many banned from travelling to work or on welfare support and ineligible for the Government’s disaster payments. NSW wants a new JobKeeper-like package introduced, and the ACTU supports a return to JobSeeker, but the Federal Government remains opposed to the idea. Meanwhile a 38-year-old Sydney woman died from Covid over the weekend, before she was eligible for the vaccine previously recommended for her age group. Should other states now be helping out NSW and sending vaccine doses to young essential workers in hotspots?

Plus we take a look at the ongoing, devastating impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s arts, entertainment and tourism sectors.

Joining Virginia Trioli on the panel:

Deborah Cheetham, Artistic Director, Short Black Opera
Andrew Bragg, Liberal Senator for NSW
Chris Bowen, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy
Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney
Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Author and founding director of Sweatshop Literacy Movement

8:30pm Thursday on ABC.

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