Regional restrictions easing but a long way to go
The Victorian Government’s decision to ease severe Coronavirus restrictions in regional Victoria has been welcomed by the Liberal Member for Western Victoria, Beverley McArthur.
Mrs McArthur said Regional Victoria had borne a burden that was unfair for too long.
“I am very pleased that the Premier has taken on board my plea and those of thousands of individuals, businesses, Local Government authorities, schools, industry and families to ‘unlock’ the regions,” Mrs McArthur said.
“The second shutdown has been disastrous – made worse by the sheer fact that it was completely avoidable.
“Utter incompetence through mismanagement of hotel quarantine, testing and tracing by the Labor Government, led by Premier Daniel Andrews, has cost lives, livelihoods and experiences that can never ever be regained, including the opportunity to say good-bye to loved ones, or even attend their funerals”.
“What price do you put on this? The billions lost by businesses – the billons spent trying to patch the holes created by reckless incompetence – how do they match the lost lives, missed education, the mental despair?
“What price all that?” Mrs McArthur asked.
The move to Step 2 arrives as active cases in Colac remain at 22 with 83 in Melton. The 14-day regional average hit 3.6 today with no mystery cases of the virus detected in that period.
But Mrs McArthur said the 863,490 residents in Western Victoria have largely been locked inside throughout this period despite most areas being without a case at all. “Of the 24 local government authorities in my electorate of Western Victoria, there are only six LGAs with active cases.
“Excluding Melton, our figures of 29 in Western Victoria Region are as good as anywhere in Australia where business-as-normal effectively resumed weeks ago, save for border closures.
“This could have been us but for an immovable Government with blinkers on and an inability to consider anything but a strategy of extensive suppression which effectively means elimination, as our cure. This virus is unlikely to suddenly disappear so we are all going to have to learn to live with it and learn to manage it. That means protecting the most vulnerable and ensuring our health workers are safe and we also all have to take responsibility for our own lives and those closest to us.
“Victoria has flown solo on elimination – and we have suffered the consequences – and will continue to. The unknown impact of deferred health investigations is yet to be revealed but at last is being seriously discussed.
“This is an easing of restrictions, not the cessation of restrictions. There is much more to be done to unlock rural and regional Victoria and the State in general. We cannot continue with these draconian dictates any longer.
“Giving Dan the Boot remains Victoria’s best option for resolving this disaster and enabling Victoria to get on with being Australia’s engine-room for productivity and creativity.”
15 September 2020