Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to recognise the millions of Victorians who are have endured some of the strictest lockdown conditions during the COVID pandemic and to acknowledge the stress and anxiety that has been caused them, in being separated from their loved ones for extended periods. But I also want to acknowledge this afternoon that the Victorian travel restrictions are about to ease significantly. From this Friday at six o'clock, due to the high vaccination rates, Victorians will be able to travel more freely across the community. In fact, many metropolitan people will travel to the regions for the long weekend.

While this will be a weekend of great joy for a lot of people, with family reunions, there will also be some degree of nervousness in the community about having large crowds gathering in our regional centres. Many of the regions have largely avoided the direct impacts of the pandemic, and there will be a concern amongst some people in regional towns about large numbers of people turning up in such a short period. I acknowledge that that nervousness will be there. But it's also such a positive thing for our communities to see local businesses in the accommodation and hospitality sectors have the opportunity to open up.

So our challenge is to make sure we all treat each other with respect during these difficult times. Regional communities like mine in Gippsland have been through drought, bushfires and the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and I urge people coming to the community: please come, but please respect the community you're visiting. Understand the need for physical distancing, excellent hand hygiene and mask wearing where appropriate. The virus will not go on holidays. We need to make sure we continue to respect the health advice and look after each other in these challenging times as we recover from the pandemic.