About 7000 Wagga workers are poised to lose $10.5 million a fortnight, with the government's JobKeeper scheme due to expire on September 27.
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On Friday, the prime minister said he would not be extending the JobKeeper scheme, but hinted at a "further stage of income support" down the track.
About 1800 Wagga employers currently rely on JobKeeper to keep their workers on the payroll, with hospitality and retail businesses relying on it the most.
One of them is Freckles Flowers owner Katrina Dosser, who said JobKeeper had been a lifeline for her and her two employees.
"It means I can hire both my girls full time and I don't have to limit their hours," she said.
Ms Dosser only qualified for JobKeeper in June, and had previously been paying out of her own pocket in order to maintain her two employees' livelihoods.
She said the months of lockdown had been "not fun at all", but said she was determined to see her flower shop survive.
"We're just going to have to wait and see how we go [in September], if we're still plodding along OK or not," she said.
"We're still optimistic. We've been here a while - we're not going anywhere."
Jobs had only just started to recover in the Riverina, with the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing 3500 workers returning to the payroll at the end of May.
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Member for Wagga Joe McGirr said he could understand why JobKeeper had to end eventually, however he said he wanted to see the government continue to provide "flexible" support to industries and regions that still needed it.
"We do need to get back to work as much as possible, but I think the government setting that deadline is important. We can't go on forever living off our resources," Dr McGirr said.
"I would encourage the government to be flexible in their thinking given one: there are industries that are clearly going to continue to be impacted, and two: we haven't eliminated the virus, as we've seen in Victoria."
Dr McGirr said the situation in Victoria served as a reminder that NSW was not in the clear yet, and that the chance of a second resurgence was still a possibility.
For that reason, Dr McGirr said the government needed to leave a support mechanism in place in the event of further lockdowns.
The NSW premier has said further lockdowns were not necessary at this stage, however, she has not ruled out tougher restrictions in the future.
The JobKeeper scheme currently costs Australian taxpayers $5.1 billion every fortnight, and the government's review of the program will be released on July 23.
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
