OVER the past week, as the COVID-19 risk level in Melbourne has decreased, the South Australian Government’s restrictions on cross-border travel have increased. I’m not sure how that makes sense, but here we are.
Among many cases of crisis and despair, my team has been trying to assist a woman whose family has been beset by tragedy.
This woman has cancer, and lost her husband to cancer last year. Only last week, she lost another family member to cancer. She believes it is unfair to have to apply for an exemption to enter SA for the funeral.
Her daughter, who resides in SA, is struggling with her mental health and wanted to be with her mother for mutual support. The daughter was allowed to enter Victoria, but the South Australian rules required that her brother drop her off on the side of the Sturt Highway (17km from the Yamba checking station, which is the actual SA-Victoria border), where she was to wait for her mother to pick her up. The brother was told he was not allowed to wait with his sister. He had to leave her there and turn around immediately.
Victorian patients who rely on South Australian medical services (Adelaide being our closest capital city) are being driven mad by the complicated and contradictory set of rules relating to entry into South Australia and South Australian medical settings.
These patients require cancer treatment, joint replacements and rheumatology services to name a few. One case involves a 3½-year-old child who has juvenile arthritis and is in urgent need of treatment modifications. If she does not receive this treatment soon, her eyesight is in danger of permanent impairment.
I understand and respect that the health of South Australian residents is Premier Steven Marshall’s first priority. But how are these rules proportionate to that purpose? These rules are oppressive. They are causing unnecessary pain and distress to communities like ours, which are low-risk and share long-established social and economic connections with South Australia.
Lives are at stake. The SA Government must review these rules immediately to ensure a fairer and more compassionate approach to their fellow Australians. If it fails to do so, the Federal Government must intervene.
