Police warn Victorian border town residents against travelling north

Jul 10, 2020

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has warned Victorian residents living in border towns including Echuca not to travel further than required.

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Speaking on Thursday, Mr Fuller addressed claims that border communities were living in a bubble with a 50 km radius.

“The 50 km is an urban myth,” Mr Fuller said when asked about travel between the two states.

“If you’re a Victorian and we find you 50 km north of Albury, we are going to give you a ticket, there is no reason for you to be there.

“If you know you’ve got an appointment in Wagga for urgent medical reasons and not triple 000 urgent, then you need to have a permit for that trip.

“You need to be reasonable.

“We are treating people with respect (and) dignity. We’re trusting these border communities so we can keep the borders open.

“But if they are breached there are consequences to that, and the premier has been really strong on that.”

Member for Murray Helen Dalton sang her praises of police for their efforts in the first 48 hours of the operation.

“The police have moved heaven and earth for us,” she said.

“They have got things running properly, you just need to see how well the bridge is running. They’ve bent over backwards for us and we really appreciate the work they are doing.”

Mr Fuller said Victorians should only travel into metropolitan Victoria for essential reasons.

“The premier has been very clear in her message that this all about protecting the health of the people of NSW,” he said.

“Victoria is obviously struggling in relation to the transmission of the virus. We need to protect the NSW border towns but the Victorian border towns as well.

“We would ask those Victorians to think twice about travelling into the Melbourne hot zones.

“If the virus does get into the border towns it will put enormous pressure on the government to toughen restrictions.

“What we have in place is working. We have 33 bridges that have been manned or closed.

“We’ve reduced the closed bridges by three overnight based on information from local government and communities.

“Eight remain permanently closed in the short-term.”

Australian Defence Force personnel have also started to be deployed across NSW.

It has not been confirmed when they will arrive in the twin towns.

“We have approximately 350 on duty in southern NSW altogether and they will be on duty for the next 72 hours,” ADF Brigadier Mick Garraway said.

“They’ll pair up with the commanders of the local police districts and assist the police in monitoring the border.

“We’re very pleased to be here assisting the police once again.”

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