SA border: Calls intensify to open to regional Victoria amid consecutive days of no regional cases
Two MPs have renewed demands to lift more cross-border restrictions on regional Victorians – as the hard border is set to be dropped.
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As regional Victoria recorded it seventh-straight day of no active coronavirus cases on Monday, and the Northern Territory opened to most of that state and MPs reiterated their calls for SA to ease its border controls.
On Tuesday, Premier Steven Marshall announced the hard border with Victoria would likely be dropped within two weeks, allowing people to self-isolate at home for a fortnight instead of quarantining in a hotel. He also said drinking alcohol while standing up was likely to be allowed within a fortnight. GO HERE FOR THE LATEST ON TODAY’S TRANSITION COMMITTEE MEETING
MacKillop MP Nick McBride, who represents the South-East, and Mildura MP Ali Cupper want SA to allow more people from country Victoria to enter. Regional Victorians can now travel to the Northern Territory without mandatory quarantine.
“This should give more impetus for the SA decision-makers to give greater consideration to our borders being more open … particularly for our cross-border community,” Mr McBride said.
At a minimum, he wanted the 70km cross-border community member travel zone increased. “If we can consider all of regional Victoria in the same sort of way, or sections of Victoria as the Northern Territory is, I’d just say, wonderful.”
The state’s Transition Committee is expected to meet on Tuesday.
Ms Cupper said SA’s border controls were having an “enormous and incalculable” impact on people’s lives.
She called for regional Victorians – particularly those in the state’s northwest that had strong ties to SA – to be allowed in.
“Increasingly, the risk of SA being invaded by COVID from Victoria is getting closer to the same risk of SA being invaded by Martians or aliens,” she said.
“The faster we move on this and open up cross-border travel in a safe and responsible way the better.”
Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said: “We need to let Victoria continue to slowly lift their restrictions and monitor the results as we make decisions about the border.
“As always, our number-one priority is protecting the health and wellbeing of our community and any changes to restrictions, including the border, will only occur when we can put the safety of South Australians first.”
