Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper says the decision to allow Sydney tradies and other workers to travel to the Hunter is "baffling" and should be changed.
Mr Piper has spoken and written to Premier Gladys Berejiklian urging her to close a loophole which allows construction workers to ply their trade in regional NSW, even though building sites in Sydney are closed.
"It's been said we're only one Sydney tradie away from a local outbreak, and I agree with that," the independent MP said. "I've contacted the Premier, and I know other local MPs have done the same.
"The idea that construction workers or tradies from Sydney can work here but not in Sydney is baffling and in my view dangerous."
The issue has also raised concerns within the government after senior MP Andrew Constance said he would ask Health Minister Brad Hazzard why Sydney workers were allowed to travel to his Bega electorate.
Greater Sydney recorded 136 coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday, 53 of whom were infectious while in the community.
The rising numbers prompted Ms Berejiklian to add Blacktown and Cumberland to the council areas where only essential workers can leave. Liverpool, Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown are also on the list.
Mr Piper said all Sydney non-essential workers should be banned from travelling to regional areas.
We have now gone 351 days without community transmission in the Lake Macquarie-Newcastle area. I've got no doubt that the Premier needs to be doing more to make sure that record stays intact.
Greg Piper
"We have now gone 351 days without community transmission in the Lake Macquarie-Newcastle area.
"I've got no doubt that the Premier needs to be doing more to make sure that record stays intact."
He said there was now "no doubt" Sydney's restrictions would extend beyond their scheduled end next Friday.
But Mr Piper believes the Central Coast, which has recorded no cases and no exposure sites during the latest outbreak, should be freed from the Sydney restrictions.
"But there are now 1784 active cases south of Hornsby. Clearly, more needs to be done to stop those numbers moving north," he said.
Mr Piper's office said several Lake Macquarie construction companies were banned from work sites on the Central Coast but Central Coast firms could still operate in the Hunter.
One resident who lives just over the Wyee divide between Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast said the area's roads were crawling with police cars checking drivers' reasons for travelling. The man had been stopped three times in the past week.
The most recently available traffic data from Transport for NSW shows the number of cars on the M1 halved in the last week of June as Greater Sydney went into lockdown.
The Hunter has had several close shaves in the past week, including the temporary closure of a service station at Wallsend after two Sydney removalists stopped there before testing positive.
Health officials have called on removal companies to stop operating between Sydney and the Hunter.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp and Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery have also called on the government to stop unnecessary travel to Newcastle.
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser agreed the Central Coast should be "in a similar position to us" and excluded from Sydney restrictions.
Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the only way to guarantee the virus did not spread to the Hunter was "fully locking down Sydney".
"I would hypothesise that if Sydney had locked down properly in the first place, we would not be in this situation," she said.
"I just think that people in the Greater Sydney area should stay in the Greater Sydney area in general.
"What it causes, whether they are potentially spreading COVID-19 or not, it's the level of anxiety in the community."
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