Confidence new fines will keep Sydneysiders out of regional NSW

Last week, harsher penalties were announced for people flouting the rules to enter regional NSW without a legitimate excuse.

People in Greater Sydney wishing to travel to regional NSW for one of the accepted reasons must have a permit.

Police can, on the spot, issue $5000 fines for lying on a permit, and $3000 fines for breaching rules around entry into the regions.

There has also been an increase in the fine for breaching isolation rules, going from $1000 to $5000, and there is a $5000 fine for lying to a contact tracer.

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Mr Barilaro said he has confidence that these measures will protect regional NSW communities, saying they had been recommended by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller.

"The penalties are significant. Some of them go from $500 to $3000, there's $3000, there's $5000 fines and up to $10,000 and imprisonment," he said.

"... We're already seeing by the level of questions government is receiving through Service NSW and all our other channels that people are now asking a lot more questions about the ability to move.

"So I think the fines, because they are significant, people are fearful that they may be problematic, so I'm confident this will be enough."

He said the measures will be reviewed and, if more needs to be done, he trusts the commissioner will advise the crisis cabinet of that.

Regional NSW is also facing issues with contact tracing.

On Tuesday, premier Gladys Berejiklian admitted that difficulties in quickly identifying venues of concern, such as in Bathurst where it has taken up to 10 days, could prolong the lockdown.

"That's definitely a concern for us, but part of the reason is sometimes when you interview somebody ... they may not remember something until the second time you interview them," she said.

"So it's not just the question of health resources and keeping up with the cases, but we do rely on people to give us accurate information of where they've been and that's really important."

Ms Berejiklian also urged people in regional NSW to take every step to protect themselves.

"In Sydney, we've had a bit more time to get used to that level of social distancing and not touching anyone, keeping masks on. I know for many regional communities it's probably the first time they've had to encounter this and we're just asking people to just be especially careful given what's going on," she said.

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