News

| January 12, 2021

Labor ignores Victorian-SA border communities yet again

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy has slammed the Andrews Labor Government’s refusal to adopt a border bubble arrangement for Victorian-South Australian cross-border communities, forcing residents to apply for a permit if they need to travel into Victoria.

The government has a border bubble arrangement in place for Victorian-NSW border communities, meaning residents can freely traverse the border without a permit. However there is no such arrangement for border communities in the west of the state.

Ms Kealy said Victoria’s new travel permit system, which came into effect on Monday night, totally ignored Victorian-South Australian cross-border residents, who have battled with border closures and onerous travel restrictions for much of the past six months.

“It’s been almost a year since Victoria’s recorded its first case of coronavirus, but the Andrews Labor Government still will not accept or acknowledge that many people live, work, study and care for people on both sides of the Victorian-South Australian border,” she said.

“To make these residents apply for a permit to enter our state – when Victorian-NSW border residents do not have to – is completely hypocritical and shambolic mismanagement, especially given the government classifies all of Victoria and South Australia as low-risk “green zones”, but not NSW.

“It’s completely unacceptable for the government to ignore the fact that Victorian-South Australian border residents need ease of passage across the border.

“The government ignored these communities during the height of Victoria’s second wave when border closures came into effect, and they are ignoring them again.

“The Andrews Labor Government must immediately correct this cruel mistake and establish a bubble arrangement for Victorian-South Australian border residents.”