RESIDENTS and businesses in regional New South Wales are hurting “unduly” under COVID-19 restrictions as a result of outbreaks centred on Sydney, according to Wentworth Shire Mayor Susan Nichols.
Just as Victorian residents entered a further five-day snap lockdown, Cr Nichols called on the Mildura-Wentworth border bubble to be extended to ease the burden on border residents.
Cr Nichols said the bubble, with eased COVID-19 restrictions, should be extended as far north as Broken Hill, the Riverland in South Australia, Swan Hill and possibly as far south as Shepparton.
While Victorian residents returned to only five reasons to leave home, Wentworth Shire faced regional NSW restrictions including the compulsory wearing of face masks in all non-residential indoor venues such as workplaces and no more than five visitors in a home at any one time.
Events such as sport were limited to 50 per cent capacity with masks required.
“The uncertainty of day-to-day living affects everyone and I think it’s unduly hurting some people,” Cr Nichols said.
“When they do these things they talk about Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong, but they’re not the same as Wentworth-Mildura or Renmark in South Australia,” she said.
“People in pure country areas are mystified about the mixed messages they have been getting and it’s frustrating … extremely frustrating.
“It’s not good and this is the general consensus.”
Cr Nichols said the hurt that lockdowns and border closures were inflicting on communities was often out of sight, out of mind.
“You don’t see the problem that’s happening to people who have had their hours cut, and who can’t work, and those who are working from home under severe difficulty and I’m very, very sorry for those people,” she said.
“It was only last week that you could go into South Australia and now, all of a sudden, again you’re locked out.”
Member for Murray Helen Dalton also weighed into the debate, calling for an end to the NSW-Victoria border closures.
“Our small towns cannot survive random, sudden border closures,” Mrs Dalton said.
She said it was disappointing that NSW Government MPs continued to allow border closures to happen.
