• The federal government has ramped up its attacks on the Victorian premier and the ongoing lockdown in the state.
• Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called Victoria’s response “the biggest public policy failure by a state government in living memory” as Treasury numbers showed Victorians could soon make up 60% of all JobKeeper recipients.
• Despite the criticism, the Andrews government could extend the lockdown further, with the state’s deputy chief medical officer saying the case numbers weren’t low enough to lift restrictions.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Melbourne residents have been counting down the days until September 13, but they may to wait longer still until restrictions relax.

On Monday, Victoria’s deputy chief medical Nick Coatsworth said it was “hard to see” the strict stage four lockdown being lifted in two weeks time.

“To be honest … with the people of Victoria, I think that we’re going to have to see the numbers down where they’re controllable,” Coatsworth told the Today breakfast program. “That is the numbers that you are seeing in NSW and Queensland at the moment. You can see the effort that it takes to control numbers between about five and 10 per day.”

“I think the numbers need to be … a lot less than they are now.”

It comes as Victoria reported 73 new cases in the last 24 hours, far less than the 725 it recorded earlier this month, but accompanying 41 deaths. 33 of those deaths were linked to aged care over recent weeks.

That aside, the case numbers are still far greater than those reported by its peers. New South Wales identified 10 new cases, while Queensland had just one overnight.

Another extension to the Victorian lockdown meanwhile would likely be met with staunch opposition, and not just from some frustrated Melburnians.

Victoria will drag down the Australian economy, Treasury says

The federal government came out swinging on Monday as it lambasted the Victorian government over its response and its strategy to get the state back on track.

“This has to be the biggest public policy failure by a state government in living memory,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told media.

The state, which represents nearly one-quarter of the Australian economy, threatens to punch an even bigger hole in the national numbers and stall the recovery effort.

“I know as the Federal Treasurer the cost to the economy is immense,” Frydenberg told ABC Breakfast. “We are seeing up to 400,000 people lose their job or see their hours reduced to zero. We’ll have more Victorians who are on JobKeeper than the rest of the country combined.”

New Treasury analysis indicates six in ten workers receiving JobKeeper by December will be Victorian. Meanwhile, household spending, the largest part of the real economy, is down 30% in Victoria versus 3% in the rest of the country.

The National Cabinet has split as the pandemic continues

Despite promoting the National Cabinet as providing a united face on the coronavirus crisis, the Morrison government appears increasingly at odds with its state counterparts.

As border closures remain in place, tensions have flared between a federal government focused on the economic recovery, and state governments concerned with coronavirus cases.

The latter strategy, however, appears to be the winning strategy, at least according to their constituents.

A Roy Morgan poll out on Thursday showed more than 70% of Victorians supported major lockdown restrictions. Only the prohibition on close family visits appears unpopular, with just one in three agreeing with it.

Similarly, a nationwide poll last week found nearly half of all Victorians rated their government’s response as ‘good’, down slightly from July.

While other states outperformed Victoria, it was interestingly those states that had maintained tough border closures that ranked as the most popular. Western Australia’s restrictions were supported by 84% of residents, while nearly three in four Queenslanders backed the measures taken by the Palaszczuk government.

Despite the federal government putting pressure on both to loosen up, their refusal to do so has worked well for them so far.

Daniel Andrews will now need to consider if he has the support to keep defying them.

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