Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to approve the restoration of the $ 750 pandemic isolation payment.
A meeting of the national cabinet will be brought forward on Saturday morning for leaders to discuss the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. (Louie Douvis)
The newspaper says Albanese will push for a “reinstatement of payment for a limited time.”
The prime minister said he received a briefing on Friday afternoon from Professor Paul Kelly, chief medical officer, on the latest wave driven by the Omicron BA4 and BA5 variants.
“Tomorrow morning it will report to the National Cabinet and we will discuss proposals to ensure that the vulnerable are protected over the coming weeks,” Albanese said.
It comes after NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet led calls for renewed support for people losing income during the isolation of COVID-19.
Earlier, Albanese said he maintained the federal timetable for ending pandemic leave payments, although he admitted it would have an impact on workers.
The prime minister said it was a decision “inherited” from his predecessor, but Perrottet issued a veiled disapproval of the stance on Friday.
NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet. (new)
“There is no time in the pandemic when we have established and left policies in place,” the prime minister said.
He said the decision should be made with contributions from a financial, health and humanitarian point of view, and with governments in unity.
“I think it’s unfair that when the state imposes public health orders on people who restrict their freedom and ability to work, the government doesn’t give financial support,” he said.
But he admitted that the budget situation at the federal and state levels was “clearly under pressure.”