Ray Hadley slams ‘lying’ Premier over Covid crisis in NSW health system

Broadcaster Ray Hadley has slammed Premier Dominic Perrottet, accusing him of “lying” about the desperate state of NSW hospitals, which are buckling under the strain of Covid-19.

Nurses protested outside Westmead Hospital in western Sydney on Wednesday, calling for the government to address increasing pressure which was being placed on health staff.

Hadley accused Perrottet of “telling lies”, arguing the state’s health system was not coping with the thousands of cases being treated in hospitals and ICUs.

“There’s no good Perrottet saying we’re coping. He’s either misinformed, which he could be by the bureaucrats … ” he told his 2GB show on Thursday.

“Or he’s plain lying. Take your pick.

“But he’s doing the wrong thing. He’s either not checking his sources for his misinformation, or he just bald faced lies … He needs to talk to people on the front line.”

On Thursday NSW recorded 30,825 new cases – including 13,178 positive results from rapid antigen tests – as well as 25 deaths.

NSW Health reported there was 2781 people in hospital suffering from Covid-19.

That number has been climbing steadily since passing 1000 on January 2, though it dipped slightly on Thursday.

Hadley said it was “nonsense” that hospitals were coping with the increasing number of Covid cases.

He pointed to a group of intensive care nurses who protested outside Westmead Hospital on Wednesday demanding the government address staffing issues.

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association said the Omicron wave had placed pressure on fatigued health staff.

Hadley said the comments coming from the government were “politically driven”, accusing Perrottet of sidelining advice from health staff.

“Do the right thing – stop telling lies or stop being misinformed by saying we’re coping,” Hadley said.

“We are not coping. The Victorian health system is not coping. The Queensland health system is on the verge of not coping. And we are not coping in NSW.”

It came as his 2GB stablemate Ben Fordham described Australia as succumbing to Covid “alarmism”.

“On the same day 17 people died of coronavirus in NSW, an estimated 136 Australians died from cancer alone,” Fordham said.

“There are serious health issues being neglected.

“I’m not suggesting we don’t take it seriously, but let’s keep it in check; a disease with a death rate of 0.1 per cent. It is a challenging time, but it isn’t the end of the world.”