The Blue Mountains mayor is calling on the NSW government for help as visitors return to the tourist hotspot following a weekend of “bedlam” when people pushed over barricades and crowds had to be dispersed.
Mark Greenhill says the local council doesn’t have the power or resources to enforce coronavirus social distancing rules so the coalition government needs to come up with a strategy.
NSW will relax travel rules in June, meaning people will be able to once again visit their favourite regional destinations.
Greenhill has written to the premier and health minister requesting assistance because, he says, even now “there’s no social distancing happening up here”.
“We’re classed as Sydney so we’ve had visitors coming for weeks,” the Labor mayor told AAP on Wednesday.
A number of areas including Echo Point and Lincoln’s Rock are closed due to COVID-19.
But as people have returned to the mountains, directions have been ignored and streets have become crowded.
“We’ve had people actually pushing barricades down, we’ve had police sort of dispersing crowds. It’s been bedlam,” the mayor said.
“What we saw last weekend in the Blue Mountains was not safe.”
Greenhill stresses the region – which suffered during the summer’s unprecedented bushfires – needs visitors to return.
But he says they also need tourists to follow social distancing measures.
‘Open slather’
Too many people thought it was now “open slather”, he said.
The Blue Mountains has an older demographic and some residents are scared to go out on the weekend.
“We welcome the visitors but there’s got to be a strategy in place to ensure that happens in a way that doesn’t endanger people who are vulnerable,” the mayor said.
“Local councils don’t have the powers under the health order or the resources necessary to ensure social distancing.”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday confirmed intrastate travel restrictions are to be lifted from June 1.
Across bushfire-affected communities, there’s been a mixed response to the prospect of tourists returning after what’s been a devastating 12 months.
Bega Valley Shire Council mayor Sharon Tapscott said it was a “double-edged sword” given tourism is a huge part of the region’s economy.
“At the same time, we have a very high cohort of self-funded retirees who fall into that high-risk category for COVID-19 adverse outcomes,” she told AAP.
“It’s a very individual kind of perspective, but as a region, our economy really does need to have the tourists here otherwise we’re just flat, we don’t go anywhere.”
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