Scott Morrison has given cautious support to the NRL’s ambitious plan to resume its season at the end of May but said the code would not be given any “special arrangements” by government.
As the NRL prepared for talks with its broadcaster the Nine Network on Tuesday, the prime minister described the league’s desire to resume playing on 28 May as “ambitious” during an interview on breakfast television, saying any resumption would be “subject to the health advice”.
“I like the ambition. I like that they’re planning to try and get the show back on the road at least in some form,” he said.
“I like they’ve got an ambitious date. But it will be subject to the health advice. There will be no special set of arrangements, the health advice is paramount and I’m sure they’ll comply with it.”
The head of the NRL’s grandly named Project Apollo committee tasked with the crisis-stricken league’s resumption, ARL commissioner and Balmain legend Wayne Pearce, announced last week that the NRL had set the end of May as its target to begin playing.
But few details have been given on how that would work, and despite support from some within the New South Wales government the plan has been criticised by Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, and the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk.
On Sunday Palaszczuk ruled out allowing players from the NRL’s three Queensland-based clubs to travel in and out of the state if matches resumed, saying they would not meet exemptions for the border closure between NSW.
“They would not meet the criteria (to cross the border) and secondly we need to make sure we have clear health advice,” Palaszczuk said on Sunday.
“And I say to all the sporting organisations: let’s just take a break. Let’s get this ‘flattening the curve’ under control. And then we can talk to the health officers about getting advice. Let’s not rush this. Let’s take it slowly.”
Murphy also signalled his opposition to the league’s resumption, saying over the weekend it was “premature”, as has the federal sports minister, Richard Colbeck, who described the idea as “a bit ambitious to be frank”.
It means the most likely option would be for the league’s five interstate clubs and one from New Zealand to be based in NSW for the duration of the league, or until border restrictions were relaxed.
The NSW government has indicated its support for that proposal. On Tuesday the state’s deputy premier, John Barilaro, who supports the NRL’s resumption, said he would be a “conduit” between the government and the league.
“It’s an ambitious date but you have to set a target,” Barilaro told Fox Sports News.
“I’m confident they can have a plan in place, and can get the health experts to sign off on it. It’s not against the rules. They have every right to try and return. It’s an ambitious date but it is one worth trying to get to.
“We are seeing a decline in [new] infections. I will be meeting with the NRL again this week. I am happy to be the conduit for government. I am a supporter of trying to get it back and running.”
Last week the NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, who has been placed in charge of the state’s response to Covid-19, wrote to the NRL chairman, Peter V’landys, saying there was no legal obstacle for the NRL’s plans to resume playing, despite strict public health orders which have seen hundreds of people in the state fined for sitting in their cars or being out on the street without a “reasonable excuse”.
He reiterated that statement this week, telling reporters the league would “have to overcome some work health and safety guidelines” but that he supported interstate clubs basing themselves in NSW.
“What I sent was NSW-based advice, based on information from our lawyers. It wasn’t a legal thing given by myself,” Fuller said.
“The reality is they will have to overcome some work health and safety guidelines. From my perspective we are concerned about employment as well in the state of NSW.”
He said he would be “happy to work with [the department of] health in terms of teams coming here and undertaking reasonable isolation”.
“This has all been about protecting the people of NSW. Health is number one and it will remain that,” Fuller said.
“Social distancing and hygiene, the premier has said, will go on for not months, but years. But when restrictions change businesses need to be ready to move. There’s no point in waiting.”
