IT feels as though we are living through a recurring nightmare. A sense of deja vu is pervading cross-border communities, who are fed up with blanket border restrictions.
New border restrictions by the Victorian Government will hurt border communities. They’ll hurt farmers that are in the middle of harvest; and they will hurt families that have been apart for months.
Cross-border communities will again be subject to another complicated permit system. The Victorian Government has indicated permits will available from 11.59pm Saturday.
Our experience with the South Australian Government system tells us that there will be numerous hiccups, some people will be excluded, and those with limited computer literacy and access to the internet will struggle needlessly. We can only hope the Victorian system will accommodate the needs of our communities.
The interim 48-hour hard border closure is not insignificant. After this announcement, I was immediately contacted by several farmers worried their work would be disrupted. Rob Berlin, of Murrayville, told me farmers stood to lose thousands of dollars a day if they can’t cart their grain to silos in SA.
I took this issue directly to the Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud. I am pleased that the Victorian Minister for Agriculture, Jaclyn Symes, introduced a time-critical harvest permit to allow this work to continue.
As a nation, we can’t continue with this type of reactivity to outbreaks and premiers have conceded this.
On November 13, the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments, except Western Australia, agreed to a framework for national reopening that included an agreement on proportionate measures for controlling outbreaks, including targeted restrictions. There was also agreement that the removal of domestic border restrictions was a key pillar to support a COVID-normal Australia.
Merely days after the premiers agreed that border restrictions were not an appropriate means to control outbreaks, several reinstated such restrictions against South Australia.
Cross-border communities are being left behind by parochial premiers who are solely concerned with provincial interests rather than the national interest.
We send a clear message to state premiers: cross-border communities are not expendable.
