Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to pay the fines of the St George-Illawarra NRL players who breached COVID-19 protocols, just days after he paid the fine of Cronulla player Josh Dugan.
Morrison paid Dugan’s $25,000 COVID breach fine from his own pocket after admitting that he and his government are responsible for the current lockdowns in Greater Sydney due to the failed national vaccine rollout. When offering to pay Dugan’s fine, he conceded that an effective national vaccine roll out would have prevented lockdowns throughout the nation and Australians would be free to go to a restaurant with their friends.
“Let me make this very clear,” Morrison told the media.
“I pretend to follow the mighty Sharks, and Josh is a Sharks player. I don’t pretend to follow the Dragons. Why would I? There’s no political gain in that. It’s very simple. I’m not paying their fines.”
Dragons fans and other members of the community asked Morrison to pay the players fines which totalled more than $300,000. 13 players were punished for attending a party at Paul Vaughan’s house in Shellharbour while the region was in the middle of a strict lockdown.
Insiders believe Morrison refused to pay the fines not just because they play for a rival team, but because he was angry that Paul did not invite him to the party.
Image:NuNa
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