Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that metropolitan and regional Victorians continue to face significant limitations to their freedoms due to COVID-19 restrictions;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) the epidemiological data in Victoria is now at a point where many health experts consider it safe to reopen in a COVID-safe manner; and

(b) the initial lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were intended to build capacity in the health system, and the Victorian health system has done this;

(3) commiserates with business owners that have been forced to shut their doors;

(4) notes that many businesses will not survive continued lockdowns;

(5) calls on the Victorian Government to give Victorians their freedom back;

(6) further recognises the undue pain and distress facing regional communities around the nation due to ongoing state border restrictions;

(7) further acknowledges that:

(a) border communities are unique in their interdependency; and

(b) regional and border communities are experiencing some of the most severe disruptions in the country, with impacts on healthcare, education, access to supplies, and the agriculture workforce;

(8) further notes that seven out of eight states, through the National Cabinet, have agreed to seek a sustainable model for border restrictions by December 2020;

(9) calls on state governments to open their borders to allow for the free movement of Australians; and

(10) acknowledges that the continued lockdowns and border restrictions will continue to cause significant mental health, wellbeing, and economic issues, particularly in Victoria, but also in other affected parts of the nation.

Today I rise to present my private member's motion on an issue that must be spoken about in order that it never happens again. COVID-19 has unveiled a sleeping giant that has surprised and horrified many of us—the power of the states to control and determine the activities of its citizens in ways not experienced before in Australia's history. All of this happened in an 82,000-square-kilometre region where there were zero or a handful of cases for eight months, my electorate of Mallee. Border closures have caused extreme levels of disadvantage and suffering for families, businesses, communities and our economy.

Situated in the north-west of Victoria, Mallee is bordered by both South Australia and New South Wales. This unique location meant that three Premiers imposed restraint on the lives of those locals, from farmers in Wycheproof to schoolkids in Piangil, patients in Mildura, businesses in Murrayville, families in Kaniva and everyone in between. The people of Mallee have shared with me countless stories of hardship, frustration and grief. In September I sent an electorate-wide email to check in on Mallee locals and request their feedback, to which I received over 700 responses. Only one in 10 people supported the state government's restrictions. Agricultural workers and businesses were hit hard. Daniel Berlin from Murrayville is heavily reliant on access to Pinnaroo in South Australia for his farming business. He brings 80 per cent of his produce into South Australia in the form of cereal grains. Coming off the worst drought in decades, the border closures were yet another strain for dryland farmers like Daniel.

While farmers and businesses suffered and kids could couldn't go to school, Mallee residents contended with severely restricted access to health care. Put simply, when weighing up the impact of border closures against risk of transmission, this basic human right was unjustifiably limited for Mallee locals. Hundreds and hundreds of patients in Mildura, who would normally rely on visiting medical officers from Adelaide, have suffered intensely. Several specialists would normally visit Mildura regularly, including surgeons, dentists, ophthalmologists and radiographers. However, they have not visited the region for eight months because the South Australian government would not grant them leave to visit Victoria and return to Adelaide without quarantining—not good for business.

During the pandemic, I had the pleasure to meet and represent John and Jeanette Feder from Lillimur. I worked closely with John and Jeanette to fight for them to access South Australia for John's cancer treatments. I'm very sad to say that John recently passed away from his illness. It tears me apart to know that the last few months of John's life were made vastly more difficult because of border closures. I want to take this opportunity to honour John, his life and his memory and the strength he displayed throughout this ordeal.

There have been many inspirational stories of leadership shown by Mallee locals throughout this difficult period. Di Thornton is a nurse practitioner from Murrayville who owns and operates Mallee Border Health Centre in Pinnaroo in South Australia. She was forced to close her clinic when the border restrictions began and she and her staff were unable to cross to South Australia. I worked closely with Di to assist countless people with applications to get across the border for health care. The fact is access to health care should never be this difficult. As a modern nation, we can't allow this type of response to occur again. It is un-Australian.

This month the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments except Western Australia agreed to a framework for national reopening that included an agreement on proportionate measures for controlling outbreaks; effective testing; contact tracing; and targeted hotspot controls. They agreed the removal of domestic border restrictions is a key pillar to support COVID-normal Australia. Merely days after this agreement several premiers reinstated border restrictions against South Australia. The hypocrisy is laughable, if it were not so serious.

Until a vaccine arrives and is distributed, we cannot continue this type of reactive response. Border restrictions unduly impact regional communities. The mantra 'We're all in this together' is a joke in cross-border communities who feel expendable and left behind by state premiers. I will continue to advocate for change in the hope that we can prevent this kind of devastation being wrought on cross-border communities again.

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