Victoria’s Opposition leader Michael O’Brien slams state government over ‘appalling’ lockdown

The Victorian opposition leader says some groups are being overlooked for assistance as the state’s exposure sites spike above 300.

The Victorian opposition leader has lashed the state government over Melbourne’s ongoing lockdown, claiming small business and residents are being overlooked.

Liberal MP Michael O’Brien said Monday’s cases were “a bit of a shock” when they were announced but expressed relief that all the cases are linked and “effectively contained”.

The state’s health department confirmed 11 new infections on Monday, taking the number of active local cases in the state’s latest outbreak to 79, with two others recovered.

It comes as health officials said Victoria’s exposure sites jumped back above 300 with 18 new tier-2 sites added late on Monday.

The additions included Metro Tram 19 on Thursday afternoon, a Subway and McDonald’s in Campbellfield, and a Red Rooster in Pascoe Vale.

Mr O’Brien claimed the circuit breaker lockdown still meant that there’s “a lot of Victorians who are pretty much living on the edge every day” and suggested the government “doesn’t understand just how difficult this lockdown is for so many Victorians”.

“We can’t keep going on like this,” he said, accusing the government of leaving one in three vaccines “gathering dust on the shelf”.

“We need to protect this state and we need to do it quickly because we need to get out of this lockdown.”

In contrast, Victoria’s Health Minister congratulated the state for representing 40 per cent of all Australian vaccinations.

Mr O’Brien said some of those Victorians included small businesses who are being ignored by the government’s Covid-19 financial support measures.

Despite some optimistic signs, the increase in cases along with the emergence of a mystery outbreak of the new Delta strain are fuelling concerns the lockdown could be extended again.

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Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien after getting his Covid vaccination at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Last week, Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino announced a $250 million support package for businesses struggling during the seven-day lockdown.

Speaking at a press conference, he said the package will be available for small and medium sized businesses, including sole traders, to help them get through this “very difficult time”.

On Monday, the state government announced an extra $30 million emergency package which will see $4.5 million allocated to providing emergency food relief to food distribution agencies, student supermarkets and cafes in regional and metropolitan areas.

Mr O’Brien welcomed the $30 million relief package but said it was “only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the damage this lockdown is doing”.

Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Luke Donnellan said the support package will support the broader Victorian community during lockdown.

“Today, we are announcing a $30 million package support to ensure that no one will be left behind to ensure people have access to food, emergency hardship payments and the like,” he said.

“We are doing this work to ensure the whole community can be supported through this difficult period of time.”

But under the measures, business who make less than $75,000 a year are not eligible for government grants of up to $5000. Mr O’Brien said those businesses “deserve support” and accused the state’s leaders are “abandoning them” and “throwing them under a bus”.

“The government still refuses to do anything for small businesses with turnovers of $75,000 or less,” Mr O’Brien explained.

“So the smaller a small business, the more vulnerable a small business, the less money it gets. “In fact it gets nothing from this state Labor government. That is appalling.”

“These are people who don’t make much money, that’s why they don’t register for GST and this government is saying you get nothing, no support at all, not one dollar of help.

“The acting premier said last week that the state government is responsible for business support and the Commonwealth is responsible for income support.

“Well, Mr Merlino, these small business are businesses and they need business support and your government is walking away from them.”

Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said authorities are assessing Melbourne’s lockdown end date daily, which comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Victorian leaders to put an end to the lockdown as soon as possible.

Never forget.

Labor *celebrated* how many days they kept us locked down

Victoria deserves better.

So let’s make sure they don’t get that chance again.#springstpic.twitter.com/EC3Apo7AEY

— Michael O'Brien (@michaelobrienmp) June 6, 2021

Health minister Greg Hunt announced an additional 100,000 Pfizer vaccines will be supplied to Victoria over the next three weeks to immunise another 50,000 people but some groups say the damage is done.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has backed the state government’s support package last week but said some workers in Victoria will be “trying to stretch last week’s pay this week”.

President Michele O’Neil posted: “We need JobKeeper 2 and we need it now for situations exactly like we are facing in Victoria today”.

In a statement, Ms O’Neil blamed the government for Victoria’s situation, citing hotel quarantine failures and the slow vaccine rollout.

“We know that huge numbers of the more than half a million casuals in Victoria will lose hours and pay this week due to the lockdown and lack of support from the federal Government.

Just announced: we're boosting hardship support and emergency food relief with an extra $30 million to help those most in need. #springsthttps://t.co/79Mj6z2yW3pic.twitter.com/a5MEqNMTkv

— Luke Donnellan MP (@LukeDonnellan) June 7, 2021

Mr O’Brien has long been vocal of Victoria’s lockdowns. In February, he hit out at Premier Daniel Andrews, criticising the “yoyo lockdowns” and said Mr Andrews should “follow the NSW model”.

“We’ve seen businesses open, businesses closed; schools open, schools closed; masks on, masks off,” he said.

“We just need some certainty and we need to keep Victoria open.”