The Police Commissioner of New South Wales, Mick Fuller, has said his officers will not be checking the vaccine status of people in restaurants, cafes or pubs, in defiance of the Health Minister’s insistence that it is the police’s responsibility. The Guardian has the story.
The Government is preparing to make public health orders that bar unvaccinated people from entry to certain businesses and venues, until at least December 1st.
Attention has quickly turned to how the orders will be enforced, and whether the onus will fall on individual businesses. Questions about enforcement prompted conflicting accounts on Tuesday.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said… his officers would not be patrolling venues to enforce vaccine status.
“The role of police in terms of vaccine passports, we will not be walking through restaurants, cafes and pubs checking if people are double vaccinated,” he said.
“[But] we will certainly be assisting restaurant owners and shop owners if they are refusing entry to someone – we’ll certainly respond to assist those people.”
Speaking to the media later on Tuesday, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said police would be responsible for enforcing the public health orders.
“If the law says you have to be double vaccinated, then of course the police will enforce that, they have no choice but to enforce that,” he said.
Hazzard also indicated venues wouldn’t face fines if an unvaccinated person was allowed entry. Asked why businesses would bother to argue with unvaccinated people if they are not to face a penalty, Hazzard criticised the media for obsessing over minutiae.
Worth reading in full.
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