Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

I wouldn't bank on it. A lot of us who maintain the aircraft are currently unemployed or left the industry. An aircraft cannot fly unless a Licensed Engineer has certified the aircraft fit to fly and at this rate there will be none of us left. Qantas in Sydney currently have around 270 engineers from International Ops stood down or offered redundancy so who knows what their current situation is and if they will want to return. I and about 20 others were made redundant by another company in March. Most of us are scaping by on contract/casual positions. I've got a casual position with a domestic operator, but of course at present we are essentially grounded so in the next 4 weeks I'm working 4 days currently - and that could change. I'm getting the emergency Government payment, but if this drags on much longer I'll have to look at getting out and finding something else to do so I don't use up all of our savings.

It would take at least 6 months to get some of us back into the industry and requalified so on that basis the targets set for reopening are of no use at all as it is an unknown completion date. We need a hard date so that airlines can plan recruitment, training and getting the aircraft out of storage and reactivating them, which is quite involved. The same issues also apply to Pilots, Cabin Crew, Check in staff, baggage handlers, office support staff etc, etc, etc. The Government have done a really good job of crippling the employees of the airline industry. Yes, they have given QF and VA financial support, but a lot of us don't work for them but we did work for foreign operators so didn't get any support. Still - "she'll be right mate!".

Originally Posted by Beoz

Correct. As I said, there is an area of Sydney that is having special treatment. Special restrictions on movement and work and the army are coming to that area. This is the new immigrant, refugee zone. They are not compliant. This is where covid is going no where right now. Everywhere else has none or a few cases. Their community leaders are claiming racism and whatever else. I'd expect that type of rhetoric from these morons.

Oh and FWIW, Sydney won't ever chase zeros again. It won't happen from here on in. It's a case of getting the vax numbers to a point where we let it rip. If Comrade McGowen don't like that, tough titties.

If you want to check out the areas here is a map.

https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/find...ng-by-postcode

Originally Posted by ozzieeagle

Seems odd to me that the same Melbourne demographic are more willing to follow community guidelines than those in Sydney.


Just hope they keep the whinging and obstinacy up as its a quicker route to freedom for all of us.

Originally Posted by Beoz

Don't bank on it. The transmissions are mostly happening at work or in the home. Work being essential industries, freight, food production and distribution, hospitals, etc. The transmissions at home have been immigrant/refugee communities where they feel compelled to spend time with each other in the home. There's not much you can do here. Maybe having the army wander the suburban streets might act as a deterrent. Who knows.

But one things for certain, the only way out of this any time soon is a good vaccination rate so we can just let rip, and that means AstraZeneca.

The other aim of the army is to contain it in those green areas from the map, and have all the yellow areas turn white, then they can do a targeted approach to lockdown and let the rest out. Sydney has been pretty good on a targeted approach in the past so hopefully that can resume soon.

Originally Posted by ozzieeagle

The ones least likely to be compliment are also the ones most likely not to be bothered by fines as they simply wont pay.

I doubt any court in the lengthy legal aftermath will lock them up either.

So good luck with the ultra draconian measures.

Originally Posted by ozzieeagle

Seems odd to me that the same Melbourne demographic are more willing to follow community guidelines than those in Sydney.
Just hope they keep the whinging and obstinacy up as its a quicker route to freedom for all of us.

Originally Posted by themerlin

I assume thats because the restrictions applied to all of Melbourne.

Originally Posted by themerlin

I assume thats because the restrictions applied to all of Melbourne.

Originally Posted by abner

Vs the NSW version:

• we want to be "as free as we safely can", or
• "as safe as we freely can be",

Originally Posted by ozzieeagle

Could be, as it would be seen as everyone being equal. I also am fairly sure that Sydney is more prone to suburbs being enclaves rather than the integration that Melbourne leans towards. For instance in Melbournes North where I live, which is basically equivalent to Western Sydney with it's mix of demographics. There seems to be a broader mix between the communities compared to my experience on visits to Western Sydney. Less of a us and them feel in Melbourne, which leads to a feeling of more being in the situation together.

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Originally Posted by ozzieeagle

Bloody lockdown up here now dammit. 3 days around Cairns right through to Palm Cove. The local Coles at Clifton Beach had a queue of traffic of about at least a Kilometer long yesterday morning. It'll be ironic if we have to go into home quarantine back in Melbourne.

Originally Posted by Pollyana

Queensland as ever in disagreement with the official line she doesn't care if we do get to the mythical 80%, she' still going to gift us lockdowns and all the same old restrictions.