Pushed to the brink: Why Rebecca is BCFing angry

Rebecca Caruana is angry because she was forced to close her business, Tattoo Saloon, on Cowper Street yet "BCF is still open and you're not supposed to go camping".

The mother-of-two said her family had already spent their deposit for a mortgage last year to get by, and this time around an extended lockdown without government assistance could send them broke.

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"You get a knock on the door, you're not allowed to work for three weeks, but you've still got all your bills to pay," Mrs Caruana said. "I understand we have to keep each other safe in this current time, but you need to work - it's a basic necessity of life, you need income."

Currently one-off disasters payments are available for employees affected by lockdowns in NSW (to a maximum of $500 if eligible) while eligible businesses turning over more than $75,000 can also apply for grant of up to $10,000. The state government is considering changing the turnover criteria but nothing has been made official.

The Australian Banking Association on Friday stepped up to allow small businesses deferrals on loan repayments and refunds of merchant terminal fees for up to three months.

Mrs Caruana doesn't fall into the above categories at this stage and her eight contractors working as tattoo artists in her business are likely ineligible too.

"I don't even know what the [NSW] government deems as essential," she said. "I have to go to the bank with my dad - who's lending me money to get through this time - and on the way there were handbag shops, clothing shops open."

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Mrs Caruana said she can't understand the logic of allowing hundreds of people to walk into a Kmart store yet not allow appointments in a heavily sanitised environment such as a tattoo parlour.

"I can control the amount of people that come into my business," she said. "You come into my shop and the guys have got masks, aprons, gloves. Everything's stainless steel or disposable."

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/public-health-orders.aspxFor up to date details on restrictions, please visit the NSW Health official website.