THE Victorian Chamber is lobbying for the NSW/Victorian border to temporarily be extended 10km into Victoria.
The border bubble extending into Victoria for NSW for the purposes of COVID-19 restrictions would mean that border town residents and workers could continue to travel between towns.
“The decision has left business across the Victoria/NSW border reeling, with yet another strain being placed on their operations and ability to trade viably,” Victorian Chamber chief executive Paul Guerra said.
The latest data released by Tourism Research Australia has shown domestic travel to border regions is down almost 50 per cent, with direct expenditure falling by $1 billion in the year to March.
“With six lockdowns, significant restrictions and repeated border closures, these communities’ tourism and events sectors have been decimated, businesses have closed and jobs have been lost,” Mr Guerra said.
The Victorian Chamber has made a submission to the inquiry into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism and events sectors, which was tabled in parliament on August 3,
“We are pleased to see that our proposal was well-received and referenced on several occasions throughout the final report,” Mr Guerra said.
“We know how these border communities co-exist, and the reliance they have on each other.
“We need to find a solution, and quickly, that can provide both the ability for the towns to operate and to restrain the virus from creeping into Victoria.”
Mr Guerra said it was a “unique” situation that required a tailored solution.
“We recognise this is a complicated situation and governments have to make decisions to protect Victoria and public health, especially from the Delta variant, but this is a unique situation that requires a tailored solution – it’s not a one size fits all,” he said.
“Businesses on the NSW side are in desperate need of trade from the Victorian side, much the same way that Victorian businesses suffered from a lack of customers from NSW last year.
“These are regional areas that have seen very little or no COVID-19 cases, so it doesn’t make sense to restrict them even further from trading in a viable way. “We need to let them get on with it or accept the harsh reality that there will be more business closures and jobs lost.”
Murray Downs Golf and Country Club chief executive Greg Roberts told The Guardian last week he has had to constantly manoeuvre his significant local business through the cross-border minefield.
“The newly introduced restrictions on border bubble residents appears to be more about politics than it is health,” Mr Roberts said.
“The only case along the Murray in over 300 days actually came from attending a football match at the MCG in Melbourne – not from Sydney.
“The Victorian Health Minister (Martin Foley) does not care at all about the people or the businesses in the Murray region, especially those on the NSW side.”
Mr Roberts said Mr Foley had an “obvious disregard” for the social and economic impact this has on Victorian residents, which he described as “the most frustrating” aspect of the new rules in place.
“The ridiculous restrictions on cross-border residents stopping them from entering a venue in the border bubble, in each state, for a meal or entertainment, has resulted in Victorian residents who work at these venues being stood down from their jobs,” Mr Roberts said.
“We have over 50 people who live in Swan Hill and work at Murray Downs that will lose work due to these restrictions.”
