7.30 interview: Josh Frydenberg hits back at Daniel Andrews, accusing him of ‘whingeing’ and politicising NSW lockdown

Josh Frydenberg has hit back at Daniel Andrews, accusing him of ‘whingeing’ and politicising the NSW lockdown.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at Parliament House. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Josh Frydenberg has hit back at Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, accusing him of “whingeing’’ and politicising the NSW lockdown after the Victorian government accused Canberra of making the state “beg for every scrap of support from the federal government’’.

Appearing on the ABC’s 7:30, the federal Treasurer dismissed suggestions the commonwealth was demonstrating double standards by providing extra support to NSW during its current Covid crisis and initially not Victoria during its last lockdown.

Mr Frydenberg said the federal government had “provided more support on a per capita basis to Victoria through JobKeeper.” “Victoria was offered a 50-50 split and decided to reject it,” he said.

He also said the current situation in NSW was different to Victoria’s extended lockdown last year, arguing that the state was not dealing with the Delta variant. “They had a massive quarantine failure,” the Treasurer said. “Then they had an inquiry that didn’t find anyone took responsibility or made the decision.”

“People are sick of his whingeing and his politicking of the crisis,’’ Mr Frydenberg said.

When anyone challenged Mr Andrews, including the ABC’s Leigh Sales, “the bots and the trots’’ attacked them.

Premier Daniel Andrews speaking at press conference in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Geraghty

Mr Frydenberg said the payments for the two weeks of Victoria’s lockdown were the same as the payments for NSW. The new measures announced on Tuesday could be used for outbreaks around the country.

Mr Frydenberg conceded the lockdowns would have an impact on the economy. The budget had anticipated lockdowns but not one of the scale of that in NSW.

“We’ve responded today with a very significant support package in a partnership with NSW. It’s both a cash flow boost which directly supports businesses based on the size of their payroll, as well as extending the individual payments to households, to workers - $600 a week or to $375 a week _ depending on the number of hours a week that’s been lost,’’ Mr Frydenberg said.

.@latingle asks Treasurer @JoshFrydenberg: "You blamed Victoria and said the Victorian Government had to take responsibility for the lockdowns there. Is this [lockdown] the New South Wales Government's fault?" #auspol#abc730pic.twitter.com/NqDZtaBSUr

— abc730 (@abc730) July 13, 2021

The Andrews government had earlier said it should not have taken a crisis in Sydney for the federal government to provide support to Australians experiencing lockdowns.

When Victoria went through its recent two-week lockdown, the Morrison government initially refused to provide any income support to workers in the absence of JobKeeper, before announcing a payment of up to $500 for employees with less than $10,000 in savings.

A spokesperson for the Andrews government welcomed Tuesday’s joint NSW-federal package for businesses and workers, saying “everyone in Australia” believed people in Sydney and NSW deserve “every possible support as they battle a second wave and a long lockdown”.

“But Victorians are rightly sick and tired of having to beg for every scrap of support from the federal government,” the spokesperson said.

“It shouldn’t take a crisis in Sydney for the Prime Minister to take action but we are seeing the same double standard time and time again. His job is not to be the Prime Minister for NSW.

“We had to shame the federal government into doing their job and providing income support for Victorian workers when we battled the Delta strain earlier this year. Their position at the time was a disgrace.’’