Victoria comes second fiddle to NSW in federal Covid support

It only takes a NSW outbreak to see Victoria is getting the Covid relief crumbs in the federal government’s funding buffet.

Once again, Victorians have been reminded that unless something happens in NSW, it doesn’t happen at all.

It’s taken Covid to hit NSW for the federal government to step up and offer a decent financial package to struggling businesses and workers.

No wonder battling Vics feel ripped off. When the virus closed our businesses and affected the livelihoods of millions, little was done.

But when lockdown hits NSW — the Prime Minister’s home state — it’s another story altogether.

The Prime Minister and the NSW Premier hold cosy joint press conferences and boost each other’s credentials.

The package they announce is more generous than that cobbled together for our state a few months ago.

It’s taken Covid to hit NSW for the federal government to offer a decent financial package to struggling businesses, writes Susie O’Brien Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is right. There is a double standard at work.

They get the gold class buffet — we’ve been left to lick up the crumbs underneath the table.

In a further decline in the state/federal relationship, federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg labelled Andrews a whinger who played politics and rejected an earlier deal.

However, the deal was nothing like the one offered to NSW.

The federal government said Victoria received the same support for its two-week ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown as NSW.

But we had to beg for every morsel and there wasn’t a more generous deal around the corner. By accusing the Vics of politicking, the federal government is itself playing politics.

A federal spokesman said: “The NSW government has worked constructively with the Commonwealth to support their households and businesses while the Victorian government’s politicised approach has unfortunately been to issue decrees by media instead of picking up the phone to find solutions as a partnership.”

Vital income support worth hundreds of millions should not be dependent on the political colours of our government or their willingness to make the federal government look good.

At a time like this, we should be above such puerile games.

There is no question that the package on offer for NSW now is more generous than the one offered to Victorians in late May and early June.

Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Alan Barber

Then we got $500 a week for those losing more than 20 hours of work; now it’s $600.

For those losing eight to 20 hours, the payment has gone from $325 to $375.

Most crucially, the asset test that stopped so many getting anything has been scrapped.

There are also payments to businesses.

They say the same help will be available for other states, but with the situation changing so dramatically, this cannot be guaranteed.

The prime minister has defended his actions, saying the NSW outbreak is likely to be longer and more severe than our long lockdown last week. But how does he know this?

The federal government has been behind the play at every turn: the slowness of the vaccine rollout and the lack of ongoing assistance after the end of JobKeeper and JobSeeker are just two of many examples.

With cases increasing in this state and exposure sites growing, state and federal governments need to work together now more than ever.

And the feds need to stop kicking the Vics.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison appears to be playing favourites with the states for Covid support funds, writes Susie O’Brien. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images.