Originally Posted by :
Australia has deployed hundreds of soldiers to Sydney to help enforce a Covid lockdown.
A Delta outbreak which began in June has produced nearly 3,000 infections and led to nine deaths.
Australian Defence Force soldiers will undergo training on the weekend before beginning unarmed patrols on Monday.
But many have questioned whether the military intervention is necessary, calling it heavy-handed.
The lockdown - in place until at least 28 August - bars people from leaving their home except for essential exercise, shopping, caregiving and other reasons.
Despite five weeks of lockdown, infections in the nation's largest city continue to spread. Officials recorded 170 new cases on Friday.
Soldiers will join police in virus hotspots to ensure people are following the rules, which include a 10km (6.2 miles) travel limit.
State Police Minister David Elliott said it would help because a small minority of Sydneysiders thought "the rules didn't apply to them".
Information provided by health officials indicates the virus is mainly spreading through permitted movement.
The Australian Lawyers Alliance, a civil rights group, called the deployment a "concerning use" of the army in a liberal democracy.
Sydney extends lockdown as other cities reopen
Melbourne towers lockdown 'breached human rights'
The outbreak has largely affected critical workers and large family groups in the city's poorer and ethnically diverse west and south-west suburbs. About two million people live there.
Critics say those areas have already faced "targeted" policing measures. They point out restrictions there are harsher than for the rest of Sydney.
"Our people are one of the poorest demographics, and as it is, they already feel picked on and marginalised," said Steve Christou, one local mayor.
"They can't afford to pay the mortgage, the rent, the food or work. Now to throw out the army to enforce lockdown on the streets is going to be a huge issue to these people," he told SBS.
Others have called for the government to increase its vaccine drive and support services for the affected communities.
Australia's rate of vaccination - 17% of the adult population - remains one of the lowest among OECD nations.
Originally Posted by Just Passin' By:
Our SCOTUS just demonstrated how that happens, and there hasn't been a peep out of most of the country. All it takes is for a couple of people to find an excuse not to do the right thing.
Originally Posted by Just Passin' By:
Our SCOTUS just demonstrated how that happens, and there hasn't been a peep out of most of the country. All it takes is for a couple of people to find an excuse not to do the right thing.
Originally Posted by Bowser:
Yeah, I read that. I guess we can all just proceed that even SCOTUS is choosing to do the wrong thing and/or is compromised.
Its basically ACB and Kav trying to push back on the narrative that they're RW ideologues... see guys we can vote like Sotomayor sometimes too! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Its basically ACB and Kav trying to push back on the narrative that they're RW ideologues... see guys we can vote like Sotomayor sometimes too!
It's just the court kicking the can, again. There's no ruling on the merits, because they used the "ripeness" portion of the "ripeness/mootness" maneuver. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Just Passin' By:
It's just the court kicking the can, again. There's no ruling on the merits, because they used the "ripeness" portion of the "ripeness/mootness" maneuver.
The lawyer-speak is over my head, but basically its not an official ruling... they just declined to hold a formal vote on it? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
The lawyer-speak is over my head, but basically its not an official ruling... they just declined to hold a formal vote on it?
They refused to grant an emergency injunction. That means that the people involved can be penalized before the case has wound its way through the appellate courts and (maybe) the SCOTUS. [Reply]
Originally Posted by seamonster:
Hard to distinguish the corona virus insanity. I saw the word POLIZEI clear as day and still misinterpreted the clip as Australian.
No worries. What's happening in Austria is horrible, and heads should roll (politically, not literally). I just wanted to help avoid confusion about the situations in the two countries. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Just Passin' By:
No worries. What's happening in Austria is horrible, and heads should roll (politically, not literally). I just wanted to help avoid confusion about the situations in the two countries.
Nah we are at the point we’re head literally need to roll... [Reply]
