Brutal note to PM in Sydney shop window makes global headlines
A scathing sign posted in the window of a Sydney storefront during the city's lockdown has garnered international attention.
The sign at the Roulette store and art studio in Annandale was penned by Archibald Prize finalist James Powditch on Saturday as Covid-19 cases linked to the Bondi outbreak grew.
"Dear Customers, We will be closed for the foreseeable future because Scott Morrison is a useless d**khead who only ordered enough vaccine to vaccinate 4% of the population 18 months into a pandemic," the sign said.
While "stay at home" orders were assigned to much of Sydney on Friday, come Saturday evening all of Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong regions were plunged into lockdown.
Since then parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia have also entered lockdowns.
Powditch's sign caused quite a stir, not only on social media but also on international media sites.
CNN's Angela Dewan picked up the story and noted while Australia's initial response to the pandemic was celebrated, complacency was borne out of a misplaced sense of security which has now dissipated among a population with low vaccination rates.
The article also noted the federal government failed to secure enough doses of the vaccine to prevent lockdowns whenever outbreaks occur.
"We can't leave the country, people can't come in, and we end up periodically in lockdowns, which costs a friggin' fortune," Mr Powditch told CNN.
"People have been accepting that this is a diabolically difficult situation, but once we start watching the rest of the world open up, we're going to turn to anger over the way things like vaccines have been rolled out here."
There was a time when Australia was held up as an example of how to handle #COVID19.
This is CNN International's homepage right now: https://t.co/qmQ7EsE3LK pic.twitter.com/S7BNJBFbyH— Simon Cullen (@Simon_Cullen) June 28, 2021
It's not the first sign Powditch has put up in his store nor was it the last.
On Monday, he shared his most recent advice to customers.
"Dear loyal customers," a sign shared to the artist's Instagram reads.
"We are closed until 2023 because Scott, front of the queue, Morrison f**ked up our vaccination rollout.
"We thank you for your patience."
A video of the sign has since been shared to TikTok by @dioterhochuli, with many expressing frustration with how Australia's pandemic response has panned out after the initial success of suppressing the virus.
One user said Morrison's leadership was a "complete dereliction of duty", while others pointed to eligible people being reluctant to get the jab also being at fault.
Several others showed their support and said they would support Powditch's store once the lockdown is lifted.
Support for Morrison steady despite rollout frustrations
Following a late-night National Cabinet meeting on Monday night, the prime minister announced changes to the vaccine rollout plan saying the government will introduce an indemnity scheme to protect GPs who give the AstraZeneca vaccine to under 40s.
Despite the growing frustration at in parts of the community at Australia's sluggish and problem plagued rollout, the latest Newspoll results show there is still steady support for the Morrison-led coalition.
The coalition's primary vote was unchanged at 41 per cent, and satisfaction with Prime Minister Scott Morrison has lifted a point, according to the latest Newspoll published in Monday's edition of The Australian newspaper.
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