Gladys Berejiklian has warned vaccine-hesitant locals in towns like Byron Bay they will be shut out if they aren't jabbed when lockdown ends.
The NSW premier told the famously alternative town with one of the lowest Covid vaccination rates in the state that it risked being left behind on October 11.
Lockdown will end in 13 days after NSW is 70 per cent vaccinated, revoking stay-at-home orders and opening pubs, restaurants, and shops.
However, residents will have to prove they are fully vaccinated to they will effectively still be in lockdown and banned from most public venues.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned regional areas such as Byron Bay (pictured) that have low vaccination rates will suffer the consequences once the state begins to open up
'Byron will be like that, absolutely, and that's because some people choose not to get the vaccine... but they have to live with those consequences,' Ms Berejiklian said on the Today show on Tuesday.
Ms Berejiklian also warned shops that if they didn't get their staff to vaccinate, they would be banned from working - which would hurt their business.
'If you choose not to have vaccinated staff, well, that's on you. You won't be able to do anything,' she said.
'Even then airlines have said they're not going to take people that aren't vaccinated. A lot of businesses have said they're not going to welcome people that aren't vaccinated.'
However, Ms Berejiklian insisted all of NSW would leave lockdown at the same time when the state vaccination average hit 70 per cent, even if some areas like Byron Bay were well below that.
Country towns would also not be banned from accepting visitors when regional travel is allowed when the NSW average reaches 80 per cent.
'They'll all be opened but only for the vaccinated. From here on in it will be life for the vaccinated as opposed to the unvaccinated. That's why we want all of NSW to move forward,' she said.
The Byron Bay Shire (pictured) has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state, with only 34.9 per cent of the eligible population fully vaccinated
Anti-lockdown protests have been held across Byron Bay, including one in early September 2021 when the region was not under lockdown restrictions (pictured 2020 lockdown protests in Byron Bay clashed with police)
The NSW vaccination rate sits at 60.2 per cent fully vaccinated and 85.5 per cent first dose.
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