Thursday, 9 September 2021

 Mr RIORDAN (Polwarth) (6006)

My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health. The action I seek from the minister is for him to immediately provide a path that all Victorians trapped interstate can return home to Victoria, in the safest and quickest way possible.

Thousands of Victorians are now trapped in Queensland and across New South Wales, who cannot get back to Victoria. This week a small allocation of just 200 spaces was made available to Victorians to come home. The electorate of Polwarth has hundreds of people who are either outside the border bubble or in Queensland. Currently these people have no hope of getting back to their homes. Many Victorians are now in a desperate state as they need to return home for health and family reasons.

The health department is insisting people in Queensland must drive home within 24 hours, and many Victorians simply do not feel safe doing this. Those stuck outside the NSW border bubble currently have no opportunity to return.

There are many opportunities for the government to make the necessary provisions to allow people to return. Home quarantine and COVID testing are just two of the most obvious safety measures. Minister, a COVID emergency is not a reason to stop people from getting to their homes safely.