CONFUSED border residents say conflicting information from the NSW and Victorian governments has left them in “no-man’s land”.
Two different border bubbles are in place, dictating movement and what is and isn’t permitted either side of the Murray River, after the Victorian Government ended its lockdown on Wednesday.
“What has made the situation worse for NSW cross-border residents is the clear lack of succinct information from anyone,” Murray Downs resident Rod Carroll said.
“Our border citizens are in no-man’s-land hearing one lot of information from Victoria and another lot from NSW with the information often not matching up.”
The Department of Health in both NSW and Victoria, Victorian cross-border commissioner Luke Wilson and NSW cross-border commissioner James McTavish were contacted for comment and to provide clarity, however no response was received before going to press.
The Victorian border bubble, before the latest lockdown, extended from Bendigo to Wagga Wagga. However, on Wednesday, Wagga Wagga and the Lockhart, Hay and Murrumbidgee local government areas were taken out of the bubble arrangement by the Victorian Government.
Creating much confusion is that the NSW version of the border bubble stops just after Yerong Creek and Benalla. Another case highlighting the confusion relates to the cross-border status of the Greater City of Bendigo on both states’ websites.
The Victorian website indicates that Bendigo is in the cross-border region, while the NSW website excludes Bendigo.
Mr McTavish recently told The Border Mail that the NSW system was locality-based, while the more generous Victorian definition was based on local government areas.
But both Mr McTavish and Mr Wilson want to see a single border bubble definition accepted.
“(We) are acutely aware of the issues that this raises, particularly around people having a better understanding of what arrangements apply to them,” he said.
“We’re keen to see alignments between NSW and Victoria but those decisions are really contingent on the decision makers in either NSW or Victorian health agencies.”
