Daily Matters: Border closures are a populist political tool

Most of us like to do the right thing, particularly by each other.

Take our response to this pandemic and the draconian restrictions we have been asked to live by.

While younger generations may not necessarily fear dying from COVID-19, they understand the need to stop the spread and protect our elderly and vulnerable. The vast majority follow the rules for unselfish reasons, whether we agree with them all or not.

Never have pubs been a more civil environment. Never have people been more patient waiting in line for a coffee or a sandwich. We don’t even need the 1.5-metre markers on the floor to keep a safe distance away from the next customer.

It’s not the threat of fines that prevent us from crossing social boundaries, it’s become a healthy habit.

Our state governments need to better understand this and trust their own people as we learn to live with this virus.

An outbreak of cases in Adelaide this week has prompted fresh talks about the state border with Victoria, which is due to reopen on December 1.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has been ruthless in his approach with Victoria on the border issue throughout this pandemic, shutting out families from seeing each other, or medical specialists from flying to COVID-free regions like Mildura to help those in need. A friend from Mildura, who has been unable to afford 14 days’ quarantine, is still waiting to bury his mother, who died alone in Adelaide back in June.

But I do hope now that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews doesn’t play tit-for-tat now that SA is fighting its own virus breakout.

The open-shut approach to internal borders can’t be the long-term solution to living with coronavirus in this country.

The border communities, in particular, have suffered immeasurably in both an economic and personal sense and need to be reconnected.

Over the past six months, Sunraysia Daily has told the stories of those who have been denied potentially life-saving surgery, to students being kept away from their parents due to the border closure.

Most of us in these parts view the border between SA and Victoria as an imaginary line in the sand, but instead it has been used as a populist political tool by a city-centric premier.

It needs to stop.

Too many people in Sunraysia are desperately waiting for the SA border to open to reconnect with families. We all have work colleagues and friends who have done it extremely tough during this time and we want to see them enjoying Christmas. Together.

How Australians have dealt with this virus is in stark contrast to countries like the United States, which remains so divided in its approach, largely due to Donald Trump’s leadership on the issue.

But I think part of Australia’s success is that we are not an overly self-righteous society. We are willing to sacrifice for the greater good. It’s why our gun laws dramatically changed after the Port Arthur massacre.

But governments need to be careful not to break that goodwill in the coronavirus fight.

They need to find a better balance, particularly in relation to dealing with future outbreaks and with border closures. If we are all indeed in this together, then the trust needs to go both ways.