Liberal MPs back easing lockdowns in some areas, additional support

A group of federal Liberal MPs have backed easing lockdowns in unaffected LGAs and increasing Covid disaster payments.

Wentworth MP Dave Sharma. Picture: NCA NewsWire

A growing chorus of federal Liberal MPs have supported easing lockdowns for largely unaffected LGAs and increasing Covid disaster payments to $750, as Greater Sydney braces for an extended lockdown after another record day of infections.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced 172 new cases on Tuesday, including 60 infectious while in the community, which came shortly after her government requested financial modelling for a lockdown extending until September 17.

The dire outlook for many businesses has led several Sydney-based MPs to call on Scott Morrison to increase Covid-19 disaster payments, while others said local government areas largely unaffected by infections should have their restrictions eased.

Mackellar MP Jason Falinski said that with 30 out of 35 LGAs having four or less active cases, it was getting “pretty hard to justify” keeping some suburbs locked under draconian restrictions. He said that if governments were shutting down businesses, they had a “moral obligation” to compensate them accordingly.

“I’m gonna say the most frustrating part of the lockdowns is that sometimes you feel like you’re not looking at the same set of statistics, as the people making the decisions are – and I’m quite open to the fact that I might be getting it wrong,” Mr Falinski said.

“The real question now that we know the best way for this to actually be resolved is to allow businesses to stay open and get momentum, and finally close them down where you have to.”

His call was backed up by Wentworth MP Dave Sharma.

“LGAs with no active cases and no recent transmission should have their lockdowns eased, schools reopened, and business allowed to trade again,” Mr Sharma told The Australian.

He also said he was open to additional financial support. “Given the length of the lockdown for some areas of Sydney, I believe there is a case for greater government assistance targeted at the areas, households and businesses that need it the most.”

Josh Frydenberg has resisted calls to reinstate JobKeeper, but it is understood Scott Morrison is considering increasing the rate of Covid disaster payments from $600 for people who have lost over 20 hours of work.

With parts of her electorate of Reid still grappling with widespread cases, Fiona Martin said she couldn’t “join the movement” calling for LGAs to be released from lockdown orders, but said the federal government should be considering additional support.

Fiona Martin. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gary Ramage

“If I can’t get this assistance for them, it’ll be very, very difficult for them to keep going if it’s going to be an extended lockdown,” Dr Martin said.

She also said people suffering financial hardship under this lockdown should be able to access their nest eggs again. Over $36 billion was withdrawn from superannuation funds during 2020, after people were given the chance to withdraw $20,000 across two tranches.

The Berejiklian government has come under fire for its widespread lockdown of Greater Sydney, which includes the Central Coast and Shoalhaven.

An extensive NSW government crisis cabinet meeting across Monday and Tuesday has considered easing restrictions for some parts of Sydney. With the current public health order set to expire on Saturday, Ms Berejiklian is expected to update restrictions on Wednesday morning.