VICTORIAN Premier Daniel Andrews must put the Mildura Local Government Area (LGA) back on to stage 2 restrictions when he announces his road map out of lockdown on Sunday.
The fact is this region should never have been on stage 3 in the first place.
Our kids should not be remote learning. Our businesses should have been allowed to continue to operate. Our parks should have remained open. People should have been allowed to play sport. We should have been allowed to visit friends and family.
Instead the chains have been kept on tight, causing immeasurable damage.
Of the six total coronavirus cases attributed to the Mildura LGA since the pandemic began in March, none were acquired in this region. There are now zero active cases.
Mr Andrews has maintained throughout this crisis that his decisions to lock down communities are driven by data. So how can he justify the draconian restrictions he has imposed on this community?
The devastating toll of the Victorian Government’s lockdowns on Mildura is laid bare in a special report in today’s Sunraysia Daily (pages 16-17).
The CBD is sadly resembling a ghost town, with another local business set to close its doors, leaving 20 empty shops. Sadly, others will likely follow.
The cost of the government’s bungled handling of the hotel quarantine in Melbourne has been enormous, but was it necessary that every small town or remote region in the state paid such a price?
Regional Victoria is not just Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, Mr Premier.
When you announce your road map for Victoria on Sunday, stay true to your word. Follow the data for this region, and let us get back to business.
