Victoria-NSW border towns take $1 billion tourism hit

Experts have scarily predicted some areas on the Victoria-NSW border will be left ghost towns as crippled businesses are forced to close.

Towns across the Victoria-NSW border have taken a $1 billion tourism hit, with 10,000 jobs lost and fears thousands more will go without urgent government intervention.

Dire economic forecasts are now predicting it could take up to three years for the border regions to recover, with fears some areas will be left ghost towns as crippled businesses are forced to close.

Latest Tourism Research Australia data has shown domestic travel to those regions is down almost 50 per cent, with direct expenditure falling by $1bn in the year to March.

Albury-Wodonga has lost $500m from its economy, while the Echuca-Moama region has taken a $235m hit.

Frustrated business owners say the restrictions and lockdowns imposed by both the Victorian and NSW governments have hurt them badly.

The Victorian government this week tightened the border, banning NSW residents in those areas from moving between the states except for essential reasons.

But amid ongoing criticism about snap lockdowns and border closures, a parliamentary inquiry into the pandemic’s effect on tourism and events urged governments to provide more certainty on the triggers they will use for future restrictions.

Steve Jones who owns multiple venues including the Quality Resort Siesta in Albury has seen a massive down turn in customers.

Moama’s Rich River Golf Club manager, Paul Lavars, said the area had suffered more than 40 weeks of lockdowns or restrictions imposed by the two state governments.

He said there had been no cases of Covid-19 transmitted across the border regions, and called for an ongoing border bubble to ensure businesses could survive.

“When you talk about ­Echuca-Moama, it’s one entity,” Mr Lavars said.

“We need a national ­approach, not a state approach. About 95 per cent of our business and three-quarters of our staff come from Victoria.

“We just want a fair go. We should be seen as an extension of Victoria.

“We’re really just Victorians who live in NSW.”

Quality Resort Siesta owner Steve Jones said his Albury business was facing its toughest challenge in more than 35 years.

“We’re stuck in the middle here. Dan shuts the borders and we cop it, Gladys shuts the borders and we cop it,” he said.

“We’re just copping it all the time. It’s really hard because we’re affected by both states’ rules, and we’re stuck in the middle trying to deal with it all.

“It’s very confusing for the border communities, and a lot of people don’t know what they can do.”

Bianca's business Murray River Holiday Park has been devastated by COVID. Picture Rebecca Pilgrim

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said border towns had “faced the triple whammy of policy failures from Victoria, NSW and the federal government”.

“Our communities along the Murray require a unique solution for a unique part of the country, which involves creating a green bubble with Victoria – a bubble that keeps these communities open to each other and permits Victorians to cross the border and keep these communities alive,” he said.

“The health risks to turn the Murray region into a green zone to Victoria is minimal and the solution simple.

“Given the economic dependence on these border communities to visitor numbers from Victoria, what we need to see are the Victorian, NSW and federal governments coming together to tie these communities to the Victorian settings inside a bubble, with restrictions upon entry from other parts of NSW. If we can create a travel bubble with New Zealand, then surely we can create one safely in the Murray region.”

Wodonga-based Tim Quilty, the state Liberal Democrats MP for Northern Victoria, on Tuesday slammed the government’s failure to protect the border communities.

He said ongoing ­restric­tions wreaked havoc on the lives of border residents and their economies.

Paul Lavars from Rich River Golf Club Accommodation called for an ongoing border bubble to ensure businesses could survive.Picture Rebecca Pilgrim

“The government continues to implement a policy of Covid theatre in the regions to appeal to Melbourne voters, pretend the situation is more dangerous than it is, take unnecessary action that appears to solve it and then take credit for saving us,” Mr Quilty said.

“During the last 18 months there has not been a single case in the border bubble, except for cases that came out of Melbourne – and they have been quickly suppressed.

“Every lockdown, we have asked to see the supporting evidence, and every time we have been denied.

“It is clear these restrictions are ultimately political, not medical. The government will do anything to the regions to look good in Melbourne.”

But responding to Mr Quilty in parliament, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said modelling showed the biggest threat to Victoria was currently from NSW. “We will not apologise for taking measures that can cause inconvenience,” she said.