50 signatures reached
To: Gladys Berejiklian, NSW Premier
NSW: Strengthen the Lockdown, Increase Support Payments!
NSW: Strengthen the Lockdown, Increase Support Payments!
The Covid-19 situation in NSW is extremely concerning. The failure to build proper, dedicated quarantine facilities has resulted in another local outbreak, this time of the highly contagious Delta strain. Vaccination rates remain woefully low.
The NSW Government has acted far too slowly and half-heartedly. Nobody enjoys lockdowns, but the failure to enact a serious lockdown soon enough has let this outbreak grow, and now means that the lockdown must be extended and strengthened. Allowing the virus to spread would be a health disaster, not just for NSW but for all Australia.
We, the undersigned, call for:
- A total rejection of any suggestion, such as made by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard, that restrictions should be lifted and we should “live with the virus”. We won’t be “living” with this deadly virus, we will be suffering and dying from it. Covid-19 has killed over 4 million people globally.
- Lockdowns to be extended until we reach zero community transmission.
- Maintain the closure of schools - children suffer and spread Covid-19 too.
- The extension and increase of support payments to allow non-essential workers to stay at home. Raise disaster support payments to $750/wk for all workers who have lost work regardless of leave entitlements, including for workers isolating after getting tested. Make all visa holders immediately eligible. Raise the rate of JobSeeker, Austudy, the carer's pension and Youth Allowance to $750/wk.
- The closing down of non-essential businesses, including non-essential retail, non-essential construction sites and other industries which, by remaining open, are forcing workers into unsafe workplaces where the virus is spreading. We are seeing shoppers fined for non-essential shopping, but luxury stores like Gucci remain open.
- The end of selective, heavy-handed policing, targeting working class and migrant communities in South-West Sydney.
Why is this important?
The Covid-19 situation in NSW is extremely concerning. Once again, the failure to build proper, dedicated quarantine facilities has resulted in a serious local outbreak, this time of the incredibly contagious Delta strain. Vaccination rates remain woefully low.
The NSW Government has acted far too slowly and half-heartedly in relation to the current outbreak. Nobody enjoys lockdowns, but the failure to enact a serious lockdown soon enough has let this outbreak grow, and now means that the lockdown must be extended and strengthened. Allowing the virus to spread would be a health disaster, not just for NSW but for all Australia.