There is anger and confusion among many residents and businesses along the New South Wales–Victorian border, with tighter border crossing restrictions coming in at midnight tonight.
Key points:
- Restrictions over who can get a permit to cross the NSW/Victorian border tighten from midnight
- Residents that fall out of the designated border community zones say it's a 'disaster' for families and business
- The Murray Downs Golf Club says it will close because Victorians can't use their facility
The stricter rules mean people within the boundaries of nominated border communities, or 'blue zones' — mapped out here, will only be able to cross the border for essential work, health and education reasons.
It will be much harder to get a permit to get across, and many that fall outside of the zones said they have been told they will not be able to get one at all.
Jenn Donavon's family property falls one kilometre outside of the blue zone, at Mulwala in New South Wales, and said she is worried about who will look after her elderly parents, who are on Victorian side.
She said she has also been told her children won't be able to go to work or school.
A little further west along the river, Kevin Bourke operates a school bus which delivers about 200 students daily from the Victorian side of the border across the river to schools in Moama.
"I went online to apply for another permit, but my depot address is Nathalia and that's outside the bubble now," he said.
Without a bus service, Mr Bourke said the tightened restrictions could leave students stranded.
Concerns over access to health services
The small NSW town of Moulamein has also been excluded from the blue zone, despite its nearest regional centre being Swan Hill in Victoria, with the nearest NSW regional centre more than 100km away in Deniliquin.
Resident Graeme Lewis said he is worried it will be more difficult for his wife, who is awaiting surgery, to access medical services in Swan Hill.
"Our nearest place is in Swan Hill, Victoria — that's where 99 per cent of our people travel for anything to do with medical."
Businesses on the brink
Closer to the border, the Murray Downs Golf and Country Club is in the cross-border zone, but it will close its doors after today, leaving 81 staff out of work.
The CEO, Greg Roberts, said almost all the club's members and guests come from the Victorian side of the Swan Hill area.
"The unfortunate result of this decision is many of our staff, who have been back working since we reopened on the 1st of June, will not get JobKeeper," he said.
Julie Zeinert lives about 60km from the border in the Victorian town of Mudgegonga but runs a clothing store in Albury, NSW.
Being outside the border bubble, Ms Zeinert was not sure she would be eligible for a permit, so has decided to stay in a hotel on the NSW side of the border so she can continue running her business.
Ms Zeinert said she was prepared to stay in a hotel for a few weeks and expected there would be others along the border who would consider doing the same at their own expense.
"I can't let my business go down the drain," she said.
Government prepared to be 'flexible'
The Deputy Premier John Barilaro acknowledged the burden being placed on border communities and said his government was open to working through any concerns.
"We're going to have to work with those communities in financial support for businesses.
"And we'll work through those unique issues from education, essential services, employment, jobs and industry."
NSW Cross-Border Commissioner James McTavish said the government was seeking advice on how it could provide support to people who are not in the border zone but would normally access services in Victoria.
The commissioner said everyone who needs to go to school, including pre-school and day care, would be able to do so without having to self-isolate on their return to NSW, provided their school is not in a declared COVID-19 hot spot.
He said the government was also considering the circumstances of people who live outside the border zone but need to cross the border to get to work.
"As it's written at the moment, they can't enter into NSW but we are doing some work now to get some clarification for people who are in that circumstance," Mr McTavish said.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA3LTIxL2FuZ2VyLWFtb25nLXJlc2lkZW50cy1hdC10aWdodGVyLWJvcmRlci16b25lLXJlc3RyaWN0aW9ucy8xMjQ3NjMzMtIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjQ3NjMzMg?oc=5
2020-07-21 04:09:00Z
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