Murray River Paddlesteamers says the current expiration date of the NSW Health Order that saw the border closed — October 6 — should be the final day the river should remain closed to commercial operators.
Currently both Murray River Paddlesteamers and Echuca Paddlesteamers are unable to operate on the river due to the restrictions in place on Victorians.
Murray River Paddlesteamers director Craig Burgess said October 6 was the perfect time to allow a return to trade for hard-hit industries on the river.
“This should be the date that the NSW Government changes the health order to allow commercial operators of paddlesteamers and houseboats to once again trade,” he said.
“There can be no recovery for any tourism-related businesses along the river if it remainsclosed with the border, which could continue until Christmas.
“Businesses will not be able to hold on until then, missing the spring and summer trade, after being forced to close essentially since March 23.”
Mr Burgess noted 40 per cent of his business was typically regional Victorians moving around the state.
Case numbers in regional Victoria are continuing to decrease, which from Wednesday, September 16 at 11.59pm will allow regional Victorians to travel across the state as long as they avoid metropolitan Melbourne.
Mr Burgess also emphasised his business already had a comprehensive COVID-19 safety program in place to look after staff and guests, including contactless ticketing, hygiene stations and temperature checks.
With the regions on track to a point where entertainment venues are about to open to limited capacity, Mr Burgess said business on the river should be given the same opportunity.
“How ridiculous will it be that Victorian pubs, clubs, restaurants etc can be open again yet a cruise down the river is not allowed because it just happens to be NSW water,” he said.
“We are hoping that our premier can influence the NSW premier to make a common sense decision which will help local businesses like ours survive.”
Murray River Council Mayor Chris Bilkey said opening the river must be a top priority in order to support local business.
“The damage that has been done to our border economies has been enormous. Our tourism-dependent businesses in particular have been decimated and won’t ‘snap back’ in the way that was forecast and promised,” he said.
“Not to mention the additional pressures the closures are adding to our businesses who rely on the local community to be able to travel freely for day-to-day needs.”
“With regional Victoria expected to get the green light to open-up a little further, the border needs to open so that we can attract regional visitors back to our area.”
Cr Bilkey said the time to help business reopen was now.
“The bottom line is that without the river open it is very difficult to attract people to River Country, which will continue to affect every business across hospitality, accommodation and retail,” he said.
“The viability of many of our local businesses is at stake.”
Echuca Moama Tourism chief executive Kathryn Mackenzie supported the calls.
“With regional Victoria now in the third step, allowing people to move more freely, this number is expected to rise significantly,” she said.
“There is the potential for it to almost double as pent up demand for travel sees regional Victorians and those from NSW looking to iconic Murray River destinations for their getaways.”
It follows calls last week from Committee for Echuca-Moama to the NSW Government to present a plan for the reopening of the NSW-Victorian border.
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