The message is a simple one from Moama operators, as the Victorian border closure with NSW enters a fifth week.
In meetings with NSW Legislative Assembly member Steph Cooke on Thursday, January 28, the message that the region was continuing to suffer due to the border closure was clear.
Ms Cooke visited the town at the invitation of Victorian Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh, and desperate operators told her businesses were still suffering long-term impacts from the border closure.
“It was important for us to meet with local businesses,” Ms Cooke said.
“The number one request priority they had was for the border to re-open, for these queues to end and for business to recommence as best as possible.
“I'm hopeful the Victorian Government can take into account the impact the border closures have had on border communities all along the river.
“There are discussions regularly between the two states, our cross-border commissioners are talking on a daily basis.
“The NSW Government wants to see the border open, but at the end of the day it is a decision for the Victorian Government to make.”
Mr Walsh said the decision to remove border restrictions should already have been made.
“It's past time for border restrictions to be removed here,” he said.
“It probably never should have been put in place the way it was. I think the panic decision on New Year's Eve just caused chaos and has created the problems with the businesses we have discussed in these meetings.
“In my view NSW was managing the outbreak on the Northern Beaches quite well, and the(Victorian) premier should have allowed NSW to demonstrate that their contact tracing is good and they could manage it.
“To cause the economic and personal chaos on New Year's Eve just wasn't necessary.”
A key point from the meetings was the need for governments to work together to create a marketing campaign to promote border communities.
“We will go back to (NSW deputy premier) John Barilaro and explain how a campaign could work, and the benefits it would bring to the region,” Ms Cooke said.
“It would hopefully help to restore confidence in the region for those looking to travel here.”
The issue of compensation for NSW businesses was also discussed at length during many of the meetings.
Ms Cooke said the topic of compensating businesses was regularly being discussed within the NSW Government.
“The discussion around all these packages, be it tourism, marketing or compensation, these are conversations that have been occurring over the past few months,” she said.
“It was important for me to hear first-hand from the community how they have been impacted so I can add my advocacy and my weight to those conversations, just to stress how important it is that we do support these businesses.”
Mr Walsh said he hoped to work further with the NSW Government on the issues impacting locals.
“Echuca-Moama is one community, it just happens to have a river down the middle of it,” he said.
“The fact we can work with Steph and the government to help both communities is a testament to our commitment to our communities.”
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