Thursday, 9 September 2021

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains)

I am speaking on behalf of the banished ‘citizens’ of the Echuca-Moama border bubble.

When the Premier decided to capriciously trim both sides of the bubble he clearly gave no thought—again—as to the structure of river communities.

By giving Edward River Council its marching orders, this Premier has blocked countless year 12 students and their teachers from accessing their own schools.

For these students, in particular, who have had their final two years at school already devastated by countless lockdowns and disruptions, this could almost be seen as the final straw.

My office has been swamped with panicked calls from schools and parents as these last few weeks of year 12 before exams are pulled from beneath their feet.

And the impact of this ill-considered decision doesn’t stop there. Business is dramatically affected; families are once again forced apart and people from the Victorian side of the border who used things such as the golf courses at Murray Downs, Barham and Moama for exercise and mental health and wellbeing have been cut off from that outlet.

Border communities might be separated by official state lines, but their evolution in the past two centuries has turned them into single entities and that’s the only way they can operate today, even if this government and its Premier refuse to acknowledge the glaringly obvious, and make it just as glaringly obvious they don’t give a damn about the ramifications.