Statement from Greens Senator for NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, following today's announcement of 633 new locally-acquired Covid-19 cases in NSW:
"Today's COVID-19 numbers are just devastating.
"But simply telling people to 'stay home' is not going to cut it when people aren't getting the financial support they need to do so. The vast majority of people are doing the right thing, and have been for weeks. Blame-shifting onto individuals is very unhelpful.
"We know people are having to go to work in areas with high transmission because the alternative is that their families go hungry. Workplaces are some of the most common areas of viral transmission. That has been the reality throughout this pandemic. People pick the virus up at work and bring it home to their families.
"Telling people off and high-profile police operations might be a cheaper strategy than proper, widely-available wage subsidies and income support payments, but it won't get this virus under control.
"It's crushing to watch NSW authorities lean on public shaming and so-called 'compliance theatre' here. It's completely nonsensical and dangerous.
"Shifting the blame for government failures onto individuals and multicultural communities needs to stop."
