A new lifestyle permit allowing border residents to travel between Echuca and Moama has been a pipe dream of the twin towns community since lockdown living became the norm last year.
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Rich River Golf Club marketing boss Paul Lavars says it is time to make the permit a reality and stop treating the towns like separate entities.
He said the perfect timing for the introduction of a permit would be with the proposed end to current lockdown conditions for regional NSW on August 28.
However, he did admit that the Victorian lockdown conditions not lifting until September 2 made the proposal difficult to introduce.
“We are one community, there just happens to be a 300m or 400m bridge in between us,” he said.
Mr Lavars wears two hats when it comes to matters of twin towns’ lifestyle - he is also co-president of the Echuca Moama Accommodation Association (EMAA).
He said last week that even getting back to the point of being able to service the local community could make a difference to Rich River Golf Club’s bottom line
“One thing we would like, in an almost humanitarian sense, is for any border town could have a general lifestyle permit,” he said.
He said even this gesture could provide Moama’s clubs with the ability to attract people within the Campaspe region to prop up the business with its patronage.
“If we could get back to serving our local community in its entirety, we could flatline and not be suffering as badly as our towns are at the moment,” Mr Lavars said.
“We understand the seriousness, but if we could serve our local towns it would help.”
Rich River’s 160-plus staff, apart from some payroll and administration employees, are currently on state government disaster payments.
“We have helped our staff to get the disaster payment. Everyone is on it,” Mr Lavars said.
He said section managers were in constant contact with their teams.
“Some people live hand to mouth, so we are making sure they are well looked after,” he said.
“We are allowing people to use some annual leave to top up if they need to.
“As a club, we are at a devastation level.”
Mr Lavars said while the impact on club finances was enormous, having staff subsidised with the emergency payments lessened the impact.
“If they weren’t getting the government money, they would need a new career,” he said.
Mr Lavars said serving two masters, Victorian and NSW governments, had been a constant point of frustration for Moama residents.
“The Victorian Government doesn’t care about Moama. We are what Mexico is to America,” he said.
“And then there is NSW Government, which seems to be making decisions based on how it thinks people will react.
“I have no doubt the reason we are locked down at the moment is so the premier can say to Sydney people, ‘look at rural and regional NSW, they are in lockdown too.'”
Mr Lavars said whatever happened in Echuca had an impact on the Moama township.
“Moama has especially been affected on the accommodation side of things,” he said.
“Ninety-five per cent of our weekend golfers come from Victoria.
“In essence, we are just an extension of Victoria. We just happen to be in NSW.”
The border towns were initially set up for Victorians to be able to enjoy the gaming regulations of NSW, prior to Victoria’s first poker machines arriving in 1991.
“The only reason there is three clubs on this side of the river is that there was no gaming in Victoria,” Mr Lavars said.
“If you were setting up the constitution, based on what has happened in the last 18 months, you would put the border 200km further into NSW.
“Deniliquin is in the same boat. Their four big caravan parks will be hurting badly.”
Mr Lavars said he hoped some kind of road map for the border communities would come out of the next set of regulations.
“We don’t mind mask wearing and certain other restrictions, but we can’t plan at the moment,” he said.
“We can no longer be in lockdown simply to appease Sydney people.”
The growing Shepparton outbreak has also caused its share of frustration.
“There is no reason for the police to be on the bridge. Send them somewhere where they can stop the spread of the virus,” Mr Lavars said.
“Shepparton is 65km away. They should be there.”
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