I'm sure many Victorians were happy to have the full family over for Christmas rather than be limited to five people.
Except what you have quoted wasnt the situation for most of NSW over the 3 days Xmas period from Christams Eve to Boxing Day.
1. The 5 person limit was for Northern part of Northern beaches only and limited to people from within that region.
2. The Southern part of the Northern Beaches could have 10 visitors total (including family from outside the NB)
3. The rest of Greater Sydney could have 10 adult vistors (in addition to adults already residing at the host home) plus unlimited children under 12.
4. In regional NSW the limit in your home was 30 people.
Noting also that outside the NB the limits only applied to inside your house. You could have more people at outdoor events, so many families (as is usual) gathered with 30 family members at the beach or in a park.
Southern NB had a short period 2 weeks (not over 3 months like Melbourne) of restricted movement, and Northern Northern Beaches had 3 weeks - but it worked and affected far fewer people than a statewide lockdown Victroian Style.
I had friends in NNB who had to zoom into a Christmas lunch, but all were able to reunite a week later in person. Small sacrifice, and no where near the mental damage of Vics lockdowns.
Slamming the borders shut with insufficient notice impacted far far more people - it caused undie stress and financial hardship for those that coudlnt get home. When Victorians should have been able to test on arrival and quarantine at home instead of waiting over 3 weeks to have an avenue home.