South Australia drops vaccine requirement for truckers in wake of protests, freight delays
The state of South Australia has dropped the upcoming vaccine requirement for truckers in the wake of protests and freight delays.
The regulation was set to go into effect on September 24th, and would have required truck drivers entering the state of South Australia to have received at least one COVID vaccine shot. Now, the regulation has been scrapped, but it is still unclear how much effect the planned trucker protests had on the sudden change of plans.
According to XYZ News, “yesterday’s protests [in Australia] have taken a serious toll on people. There were mass arrests, mass fines, and completely unnecessary police brutality against people who were simply standing still in silence,” as people stood together to support truckers and their medical freedom. Some of the demonstrations were even described as “complete and utter chaos.”
#BREAKING: Truck drivers are right now protesting over mandatory vaccination on the Gold Coast. @JessMillward9 #9News pic.twitter.com/EjU61I8Shu
— 9News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) August 29, 2021
Peaceful protest at Noosa.#IStandWithTruckies #COVID19 #COVID19Aus pic.twitter.com/zyhJb5yHYK
— XYZ (@itsyourxyz) August 31, 2021
@thedisrespectedtrucker3, a major promoter and apparent leader of the proposed American trucker protest for August 31st, has been banned on Tik Tok since the movement’s rise in popularity, but that didn’t stop some Americans from joining in the week of planned protests. Check out how these demonstrations went here.
— The Disrespected Trucker (@DisrespectedThe) August 28, 2021
Although the South Australia COVID vaccine requirement had not yet gone into effect, a Victoria regulation requiring truckers to have received a negative COVID test within 72 hours had drivers waiting in large queues at the border, and some were even turned away. These hurdles have already caused freight delays and labor shortages, which may have been a factor in the decision to eliminate the upcoming requirement.
It is not yet clear if more Australian States will follow South Australia’s decision to scrap the vaccine requirement for truckers.