Exclusive: Mike Freelander joins NSW Labor leader Chris Minns in calling for Albanese government to rethink decision on Covid policies
Labor backbencher and doctor Mike Freelander is calling on the government to restore Covid pandemic leave payments and free rapid tests for concession card holders, saying they are needed for people struggling with the cost of living to help slow the spread of the virus.Anthony Albanese
“I think we have to be careful with the budgetary situation and obviously we do need to weigh up very carefully the costs and benefits, but I do believe that the government should reconsider the decision to end free RATs for pensioners and health care card holders, and also the leave situation,” he told Guardian Australia.
“I know already that there are people with Covid who are not isolating because they just can’t afford it.” Minns also argued for the leave payment to be reinstated, saying the payment was “the price that we need to pay” in order to deal with Covid over the next 12 months. Speaking on the Today show on Thursday morning, Albanese said he understood people were going through a “difficult period”, but emphasised the difficult budgetary situation facing the country.
Referencing Albanese’s media interviews, aged care minister Anika Wells said the decision was still under consideration, and appeared to indicate that the federal chief medical officer had recommended changes to government spending.
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