Covid vaccine: SA backflips on mandated jabs for Victorian border residents

Victorian border residents are frustrated and confused after SA authorities backflipped on part of a mandatory vaccine ruling.

Paula Gust, of Apsley in Victoria and her daughter Holli. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Victorians living on the South Australian border who travel into SA as part of the cross border community arrangements have been left confused and frustrated by a backflip on Monday by SA authorities over mandatory vaccines.

SA Police had stated Covid-19 vaccines would be mandated for all cross border community members who wished to enter SA, from September 24.

Thousands of CBC Victorians rely on the border bubble with SA to access essential supplies and care.

But following pressure from media and community advocates, SA authorities have now backflipped on the ruling.

A Cross Border Travel Direction, issued on the SA Police website late Monday afternoon states the original rule that would require all Victorian border residents seeking essential goods or medical care to be vaccinated was “revoked”.

It has now been “replaced” by a new directive that states “Cross Border Community members who usually reside in the Victorian Cross Border corridor are not required to have a Covid-19 vaccination by 24 September 2021”.

“All other essential travellers will be required to have at least one TGA approved vaccination by this date.”

Essential travellers include farm workers such as shearers living outside the CBC.

However, Victorian residents living along the border remain unsure if SA will again change the rules.

SA Police said in an earlier media statement, issued on Monday that even if the CBC members were not currently required to be vaccinated, that could again change.

The statement outlined “future changes may require cross border community members and permitted arrivals to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before arriving in South Australia.”

Victorian community advocate Paula Gust, who runs the Cross Border Call Out Facebook page said the community was “alarmed” by SA Police’s original directive that stated all border residents would need to be vaccinated before they could enter SA.

Ms Gust, a farmer from Apsley, was last year forced into a position where she had to sign over the legal guardianship of her Victorian daughter to family members in SA to enable her to continue her schooling in Adelaide.

Ms Gust has continued to advocate for border communities throughout the pandemic.

She today told The Weekly Times her community had been left shocked and confused by the SA Government’s changing position on CBC and vaccines, as well as the SA government’s poor communication with her community.

The Cross Border Call Out Facebook page has been flooded with comments from concerned Victorians, many of them staunchly opposed to mandated vaccinations.

Melissa Free-Greig posted on the public page; “It is discrimination plain and simple. If I as a cross border person that supports SA business all the time is being force to get poison (sic) in my body then I think all of SA should be forced.”

Adrian Johnson posted; “I’m from Vic and If this goes ahead I will be cancelling the two utes I am waiting for from Mount Gambier, people need to stand up to these control freak (sic).”

While Danny Higginson wrote; “What a sad day this is that we no longer have a choice what goes into our own bodies. We are forced to get this vaccine to live our lives. We are just easy targets to get their stats up as we have to cross the border to live.”