Federal member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said the federal government's stimulus packages need to hit bank accounts sooner than April 27.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The recently announced second stimulus package includes a $550 per fortnight coronavirus supplement for six months, in addition to other benefits already being received by jobseekers and those on youth allowance.
"Until the government changes its position, I am asking landlords and banks to be mindful of the situation jobseekers and those on benefits find themselves in, and support one another," Ms Chesters said.
The closure of many of Bendigo's favourite businesses on Monday afternoon was "heartbreaking", Ms Chesters said.
The second stimulus package includes a 0.25 percentage point reduction in deeming rates for pensioners, but Ms Chesters said enough isn't being done to support this group of Australians.
"Pensioners are already struggling," Ms Chesters said.
"The only support in either stimulus package for pensioners is a $550 once off payment."
Deeming rates are used to assess pensioner income and how much someone will receive through their pension.
Deeming rates were reduced by half a percentage point in the first stimulus package and aged pensioners are estimated to receive, on average, an additional $219 per year, according to National Seniors.
Ms Chesters said long lines seen outside Centrelink offices across the country are because of the need to prove your identity before you can access payments.
"We are begging the government to relax that requirement, so people can do that online or over the phone," Ms Chesters said.
"I appreciate that is hard to do when the system crashed.
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we want to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here