REGIONAL communities, and in particular cross-border communities, are doing it tough like never before.
It is almost a cliche or an overused phrase to talk about the resilience of these communities. They don’t talk about it though, they live it. They have to.
It is devastating to be given a terminal diagnosis or to be told you or your child has a life-threatening illness, but to then be denied the medical care you have come to rely on is simply extraordinary. It is inhumane and unfathomable.
This is Australia. How did we get here? Mallee is in the unenviable position of having two borders and therefore three premiers with varying ideas of how this pandemic should be managed.
At this point we do not have a reasonable solution for our cross-border communities.
It is made worse by a lack of common sense and misinformation, which breeds confusion and distrust. Bureaucratic decisions being made from a metropolitan perspective fail to understand the interdependency of cross-border communities.
On the ground, these decisions are heartless.
Every decision impacts the lives of real people. Mothers with sick babies are refused exemptions to see their doctor or go to their hospital. Those with cancer who need chemotherapy right now, are told to find another Victorian service provider.
It appears that continuity of care is not a priority for SA Health.
Even health providers such as Di Thornton have had to pack up their medical clinic in Pinnaroo and head back to Murrayville because she has been refused an exemption. Even South Australian residents will suffer with this decision.
My heart goes out to those to whom I have spoken, and from whom I have received letters, who are living in no-man’s land, unwanted by South Australia and uncared for by Victoria. I will continue to fight these unjustifiable border closures.
As regional communities we are more than contributors. We have shown how to manage health risks with compliance and kindness, and yet this is how we are rewarded.
Anne Webster is the Member for Mallee
