THE New South Wales Government has been urged to show some leniency with its stricter border closure rules, which are in effect from midnight Tuesday.
The new rules mean only people who live within the designated border zone will be able to apply for a permit and will then only be able to travel for the purposes of work, education or health care.
It means that Robinvale residents who need to travel to or through Mildura will need to do so through Hattah instead of the Sturt Highway in NSW.
There are concerns the tighter regulations will have a “devastating” impact on residents in the wider Sunraysia region.
Member for Mildura Ali Cupper said the Sturt Highway needed to be included in the new border zones so commuters could continue to use it daily for work as a matter of public safety.
Ms Cupper said on Tuesday all indications were that commuters would be banned from using the Sturt Highway to commute from Mildura to Robinvale.
She said the Hattah-Robinvale Road — an extra 45km than the more direct 90km route to Mildura — was not up to the standard needed for a high level of commuter traffic.
“Looking at the border zone map released by the NSW Government, it seems logical and practical to include the entirety of the Sturt Highway to allow those commuters to use that route,” she said.
“There is absolutely no way people travelling that route could be considered a risk to the public health of people in NSW — commuters aren’t stopping in NSW at any time.
“As for growers whose farms are along that road, what are they supposed to do?”
Swan Hill Council Robinvale Ward councillor Jade Benham said the new rules would create “so many issues” for people who worked either side of the border
“We’ve got farmers who have got farms on both sides of the river and some that go outside the designated border region,” Cr Benham said
“There needs to be leniency around the agricultural sector because that’s where we are going to come unstuck and that’s what our region thrives on, particularly in Robinvale.
“I get that NSW wants to protect itself, but there’s got to be a compromise somewhere, particularly for the agricultural sector.
“I consider myself a border resident, but I am just outside the designated border region so I can’t go to New South Wales and there are so many people in the same boat.”
Cr Benham said she had received calls from residents asking what the changes meant for them.
“I think that’s the sentiment of everyone … we’re just so confused and I’m exasperated,” she said.
“There’s that little line called the Murray River in between, but Robinvale and Euston are, for all intents and purposes, the same town and that social fabric covers the whole town and the outer regions as well.
“Euston doesn’t have a doctor’s surgery and they don’t have a pharmacy, they don’t have all of these other things that Euston residents rely on just over the river in Robinvale.
“And their social circles and families might be on the other side of the river as well.
“We don’t want to make the elderly and the vulnerable more vulnerable.”
Ms Cupper said she had written to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to outline her concerns about the proposed changes and asked him to raise the issue of border closures with NSW and South Australia at the next National Cabinet meeting.
“These restrictions are more than just an inconvenience, they have the potential to really impact our communities and there is no timeframe on how long they will be in place,” she said.
