NSW-Vic border: Tougher restrictions block residents from doctors, work

Hundreds of border residents have been put out of work, forced to change doctors and generally left in limbo after restrictions were tightened.

Hundreds of residents who live along the NSW-Victoria border are unable to go to work, school or their doctor after losing their travel permits because of tough new entry restrictions.

A golf club has shut down, putting 81 out of work, and many residents have been cut off from their local supermarkets and forced to drive for hours to get basic supplies and medical care.

Tara Dundon, who lives in the NSW Riverina town of Finley, is 28 weeks into her first pregnancy. She is considered high risk and unable to be seen by her local hospital as a result.

Ms Dundon, 33, had been seeing a doctor in Shepparton in Victoria – about an hour from her home – but has had to switch to a doctor in Wagga Wagga as she is no longer able to cross the border without having to self-isolate for two weeks upon her return.

“Shepparton is a two-hour round trip and Wagga is a five-hour round trip,” she told NCA NewsWire.

“I’m not thrilled … there’s not a lot between Finley and Wagga. There’s not much reception and a lot of kangaroos … we don’t really want to be rushing there at night.

“This is my first pregnancy – I’m hoping we get there in time (to have the baby).”

Tara Dundon, 33, is having a high-risk pregnancy but has been locked out of her closest specialist hospital due to new border restrictions. Picture: Supplied

Ms Dundon said she had applied for an exemption with NSW Health but was yet to receive a response, and her repeated phone calls to try to get some answers have turned up nothing.

“The last two weeks have been really stressful,” she said. “Just not being able to get a clear answer from anyone.”

The soon-to-be mother said she had spent “hours” on the phone to NSW Health only to be directed to Service NSW who would put her back to NSW Health.

“I did this for days, it was really frustrating, like they’d never thought of my situation,” she said.

“I couldn’t understand how they wouldn’t have some sort of medical exemption – not just pregnant women – I know people getting cancer treatment. There’s a woman here who had to get a lung function test and she’s had to put that off.”

‘HE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO WORK FOR THREE MONTHS’

Others are at risk of losing their jobs over the tightened border measures, with one apprentice mechanic stuck in NSW unable to do his job just 20 kilometres away in Victoria.

Ryan Twemlow, 22, is an apprentice mechanic who lives in Finley and works over the border in Cobram. Unable to get to the garage, he has to study at home, which is stopping him from developing any practical skills.

His father, who asked not to be named, told NCA NewsWire the new restrictions had caused upset for the whole community, with many locals employed over the border and unable to even access the closest Woolies.

The man said the new border lines were “ridiculous” and did not accommodate the services and resources in each town.

“We live 21km from the border and we can’t go in because (of) the line they’ve drawn,” he said. “Torcumwal is no more than five kilometres across the border, but if I was near Albury, (the same line) is between 18 and 21km.

“The fact is, they’ve brought in these restrictions and they haven’t looked at what is critical. The border changes, they need to look at and retrospectively change the areas as required.

“Other towns (like Albury) who are as far out as we are – you look at the infrastructure there and the infrastructure here, it’s chalk and cheese.”

There’s no mechanic work available for Mr Twemlow in Finley, so he is forced to stay home and work off study notes.

“Given the current climate with the decisions, he may not be able to go back for three months,” his father said.

“Nothing is guaranteed – at the moment they’re on JobKeeper from the initial COVID onslaught, they had such a downturn.

“So the majority are still on that COVID pay, and that’s going to be restricted soon, so it’s quite possible when it is that his wage will drop.”

Mr Twemlow has a car loan and other expenses he needs to be able to pay, and his family are concerned about whether he will be able to hold onto his job through this latest hurdle.

Both the apprentice and his boss are frustrated, with one down a worker and one unable to work for reasons beyond his control.

New restrictions on border crossings have stripped many border community residents of their permits to cross over at will, leaving some unable to work. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Dallinger

Murray MP Helen Dalton said the NSW Government could fix the situation “with the stroke of a pen” and allow people to cross the border for work only.

She said thousands of people in the Sydney COVID hot-spot suburb of Liverpool were allowed to travel all over the city to go to work.

“There are zero cases in border towns like Deniliquin, Moulamein, Tocumwal, Murray Downs, Barham, Moama and Wentworth. But many of these people are now banned from going to work, even if their job is just 15km away,” she said.

“How is this fair?”

Mr Twemlow’s father said he had unable to get a straight answer from anyone about the tougher restrictions.

“People will end up killing themselves over this sh*t,” he said.

‘I DON’T KNOW WHEN I’LL BE ABLE TO GO BACK HOME’

Shop owner Julie Zeinert has found herself in the opposite situation.

Unable to get to work and home without quarantining for two weeks, Mrs Zeinert has left her husband and 13-year-old at home in Mudgegonga, Victoria, to stay in a hotel in Albury, NSW, nearby her clothing store.

She has only been away from her family for a few days, but the experience has already taken a toll on her.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to go back home,” she said.

“It’s really hitting my husband and myself – my son doesn’t really talk about it, but I think it will hit him a bit more coming up to the weekend.”

Mrs Zeinert feels she doesn’t have a choice.

“This is our only livelihood,” she said.

“My husband works here as well. We operate the business together along with two casual workers.”

The family have owned the business for 19 years and fear losing their customer base if they can’t open at all.

Julie Zeinert, owner of Zeinert and Zeinert clothing store, lives in Mudgegonga in Victoria but her business is in Albury NSW. To avoid a two-week quarantine, Mrs Zeinert lives in a motel in Albury and is unable to see her family. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Dallinger

Mrs Zeinert is not alone in her decision. Other business owners in Albury have also made the move to NSW just to keep their businesses afloat, including one young father who was forced to leave his two and four-year-old children behind.

“He hasn’t been able to see them in weeks,” she said.

Mrs Zeinert said the Government was right to close the border to protect communities against the spread of coronavirus but should have done more research on the towns it was locking out.

She noted many of the people in her community and in surrounding towns needed to travel across the border for work and were now no longer able to.

The estimated cost of Mrs Zeinert’s stay is looking to be about $600 a week minimum, which she said was money she shouldn’t have to spend.

“We’ve lost so much already,” she said. “We shut for five weeks the first time, on March 28, and only reopened just before Mother’s Day.

“It’s really draining. There’s a bit of anxiety with the unknown, the mental health side has been hard to deal with.”

The mother-of-one is working tirelessly with Sussan Ley, the Federal MP in Albury, to obtain a permit that will allow her to go home without losing her business – but she says the wait is already taking its toll.

“I think even if I get to two weeks, I might not last that long,” she said.

“It’s really hard to be away from your family, especially at the moment.”