Image Upload


File size must be less than 2Mb

You must have online publishing permission or full ownership of this image

File types (jpg, png, gif)






  • Hero image
    Member for Mallee Anne Webster.

Webster: Border restrictions devastating

Member for Mallee Anne Webster has described South Australian border restrictions as ‘defying belief’.

“The effects on our cross-border communities are crushing,” she said.



Article continues below


“These short-sighted, panic-stricken, city-centric decisions fail to take into account the realities of life on the ground.

Regional Australians are being punished for what is happening in Melbourne.

“When these changes were announced on Wednesday, I heard from many anxious locals who live along the South Australian border. They are worried about their businesses, their livelihoods, their communities, and their families.

“People are calling my office in tears because they feel like Australia has abandoned them.

“South Australia has blocked them out, and Victoria has locked them down. Communities on the South Australia Border are caught between a rock and a hard place, and hope is slowly leaving these communities.”

Dr Webster said the Wimmera-Mallee had experienced ‘very’ few active COVID-19 cases for more than four months.

“Restrictions that lock down our communities and borders are misguided. Restrictions are designed to flatten the curve, but what purpose do they serve where no curve exists? They only serve to decimate our local economy and disrupt the social fabric of our border communities.

“The State Governments need to adopt a targeted approach to restrictions, instead of the blanket policies that have been implemented by premiers Daniel Andrews and Steven Marshall.

“The reality is we could be living with this virus for years until we have a vaccine.  The measures that we’re experiencing are not sustainable.  We need a measured approach that allows us to manage this virus in the long-term, without decimating regional towns and economies.

“We need to maintain effective preventative measures including hand hygiene, social distancing, and masks, and manage any outbreaks with testing and tracing regimes, but restrictions should not be used as preventative measures.”

“I have taken this issue to the Prime Minister. We cannot allow regional Australians to be punished as they try to go about their daily lives.”

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy has also written to Premier Daniel Andrews urgently stressing a need for 'financial and practical' support for Victorians who live close to the Victorian-South Australian border.

She said in her letter that for many cross-residents 'this restriction to enter South Australia will have a devastating impact on their lives'.