THE inconsistencies in COVID-19 restrictions that could allow the third State of Origin game to be played in Newcastle feel like a "kick in the guts" for those forced to cancel events and gigs on Saturday afternoon, a Lake Macquarie woman says.
Ami Streeter had been setting up for her husband's 50th birthday party in a paddock at their 3.5-acre Eleebana property on Saturday when a friend called to alert her to the increased restrictions coming into play from 6pm that night.
"I honestly did not think that three hours before the party we would have to cancel it," she said. "Last Thursday we had uninvited all of the Sydney people, and we had checked with all the Newcastle guests if they had been to Sydney - so we really thought we'd done the right thing and that we would be fine. But the hard thing was there was no real clarity on outdoor gatherings."
Mrs Streeter tried calling the COVID hotline, which was jammed with calls, before contacting the local police station.
"We wanted to do the right thing, but we didn't want to cancel if we didn't have to," she said. "We worked out that we could walk 200 metres down the road to the park, and have 50 people there, but our backyard is bigger than that. "If we'd been at a function room or a public hall, we would have been fine. It was because it was in our backyard. Despite having, literally, acres."
She said the caterers had dropped off enough food for 50 people, and while their permitted five guests ate what they could, she had been giving away the rest to neighbours and freezing as much as possible.
"It's one thing to lose the money, which is frustrating, but it is awful having to throw good food out," she said. "We had booked a band. They offered us a full refund but hopefully we can re-book them at a later date.
"Hearing about the bid to have the third State of Origin game here was a bit of a kick in the guts. If there is 50 percent capacity allowed for outdoor seated events, that's 17,000 people who don't know each other at McDonald Jones Stadium that you're relying on to do the right thing. Yet we couldn't have 50 of our close family and friends come to our property.
"We have a lot to be grateful for, and in our case it was just a birthday party, but it is still frustrating," she said.
Hunter New England Health's Dr David Durrheim said if the decision is made to bring the "dead rubber" to Newcastle, there would need to be "very strong, stringent" public health controls around attendance.
"Police and organisers would have to be very engaged in excluding anybody from the greater Sydney area and making sure people from those areas who somehow manage to turn up at the gate are turned away," he said.
