MILDURA Mayor Simon Clemence has called for a commonsense approach to border closures and an immediate review of new South Australian-Victorian border restrictions.
Cr Clemence said Mildura Council would also advocate strongly for Murrayville people heavily affected by the new restrictions, as they had done in a similar situation with the New South Wales border.
“Residents in towns like Murrayville rely heavily, or in some cases exclusively, on access to South Australia for medical care, fuel supplies and employment,” Cr Clemence said.
“They were already doing it tough under the existing border restrictions, but these harsh new restrictions will unfairly impact on our residents in these communities, particularly given the lack of COVID-19 cases in our region.”
The South Australian Government this week announced from August 21 cross-border residents would be able to enter South Australia only as essential travellers.
Exemptions will be granted for farmers whose properties span the border, Year 11 and 12 students and people with other health-approved exemptions.
“Understandably, residents in Murrayville are extremely concerned, anxious and scared by the further isolation caused by these new restrictions,” Cr Clemence said.
“Council is acutely aware of their plight and will continue advocating for the support needed to help the Murrayville community through this until common sense prevails and allowances are made.”
Member for Mildura Ali Cupper and Victorian Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes are in discussions about providing a fuel tanker at Murrayville.
Murrayville and district have been without a petrol station for a number of years and the nearest fuel outlet is at Pinnaroo in South Australia, which will be out of reach from August 21.
“People from Murrayville and surrounds will be banned from entering South Australia for the purposes of purchasing fuel and supplies from next Friday,” Ms Cupper said.
“It is unacceptable to expect people from those border communities to have to travel up to 100km just to buy fuel, so making a fuel tanker available for this basic need is crucial.”
