THIS week the Victorian State Labor Government implemented the most severe movement-limiting restrictions in Australian history.
Melburnians now face an 8pm curfew and household confinement except for an hour of daily exercise.
Measures intended to curtail the metropolitan outbreak of COVID-19 have also overflowed to regional Victoria, including to many areas that have yet to experience a single case of the virus.
The blanket approach to regional restrictions taken by Premier Andrews is inequitable and excessive. I understand the need to contain outbreaks and lockdown hot spot areas, but targeted measures to prevent people moving within and outside of hot spots should instead be prioritised. For this reason, I sent a letter to Mr Andrews requesting that he reconsider his approach.
These regional restrictions and their haphazard implementation, coupled with closed borders to the north and west, threaten the sustainability of businesses, industries and communities in Mallee.
Confusion for industry was compounded further due to an announcement that many regional industries would be placed under stage 4 restrictions, despite stage 3 measures applying across regional Victoria.
Certain industries, including abattoirs and meat processing, and warehouse and distribution centres, were notified as late as Thursday afternoon that they were being hit with stage 4 restrictions. These measures dictated that businesses were required to implement plans to reduce their workforce by up one-third before 11.59pm Friday.
I appreciate that implementing these restrictions must be extremely difficult, however, just over 24 hours’ notice of these changes is simply unacceptable, especially given the fact that many questions remain unanswered, and available information is disjointed and inconsistent. Websites are showing outdated information, emails are not being responded to, and telephone wait times are hours-long.
Industry leaders I have spoken with through the night on Thursday and into Friday say that these moves will decimate the industry. Some companies could be forced to shut their doors under these requirements.
This has the potential to cost a huge number of jobs across Mallee and regional Victoria, threatening exports and our domestic supply.
I know that Mallee industry is adaptable and resilient, but businesses are rightly requesting more consultation and effective communication, rather than policy on the run.
Anne Webster is the Member for Mallee
