Sydney’s favourite show has not been renewed for another season. Despite saying in recent days that the peak of the outbreak is likely to hit within the next week, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced that the daily 11am press briefings will no longer go ahead from Monday, September 13. Instead, a pre-recorded video created by NSW Health will be streamed from 11am, as has been the norm in NSW during periods when spread has been low or at zero. Crucially, the press Q&A, which often contains the most incisive and revealing commentary, will no longer to go ahead on a daily basis.
Berejiklian said that she would hold press briefings “when [she] needs to”, adding “You’ll see me when you need to.” The journalists, who will no longer be able to challenge or dissect the day’s remarks, moving forward, were notably upset about this unexpected news. But Berejiklian stood her ground, clapping back with “Some of you have told me doing a briefing every day was too much.”
Tens of thousands of people, not just in NSW but around Australia, tune into the 11am press conference to find out the latest developments of the outbreak in the nation’s most populous state. By contrast, Victoria has delivered an in-person press briefing with a Q&A every day of its 200-plus days in lockdown since last March. The Q&A portions of the Sydney press briefing have become increasingly intense since lockdown began in Sydney 11-and-a-half weeks ago, with the premier and NSW health minister Brad Hazzard often chiding the journalists for the fervour of their questioning.