For eight years Murrayville resident Synon Peers has been commuting the 26 kilometres across the border to work at his mechanical and tyre fitting business, Peers Motors.
But from Friday he faces being locked out of his business which employs eight staff if he isn't recognised as essential to the farming community.
"Small businesses don't work without the owner and I don't know how long I could be cut off for," he said
Nearly a week ago he submitted a COVID risk management plan to SA Health - a necessary criteria before applying for his SAPOL permit - and as yet he has heard nothing.
"It was literally impossible to talk to anyone from SA Health about which COVID plan I needed to use - the whole system is an absolute mess," he said.
Murrayville is a SA border community that happens to be in Vic.
- Synon Peers
Mr Peers says the decision to abolish the cross border community arrangement beggars belief with the nearest active case hundreds of kilometres away.
"'They have still not given us any information to back up the cross border risk- have we had a case come through a cross border member?" he said.
"How many other areas are like us and are getting tested every seven days?"
Mr Peers says Murrayville is a "SA community that happens to be in Vic".
"In the last 10 years the two towns have moulded into one with about third of the students at Murrayville school from Pinnaroo, while Pinnaroo has the fuel,medical and key ag supplies," he said.
'The smallest farmers from Vic would spend more than $100,000 a year in Pinnaroo."
Mr Peers believes the answer is to create a travel bubble around Murrayville.
Without those Victorians having continued access to medical services in Pinnaroo he says the nearest equivalent health care is a 440km round trip to Mildura, Vic.
"As of next week the way that I understand it the only way across the border for medical attention is in the back of an ambulance," he said.
"If you have a fever or a toothache you can't come over the border you have to go 220kms to Mildura.
"There are already elderly people in Murrayville too scared to move far for fear of falling over and not being able to come across the border for medical attention."
Member for Mildura Ali Cupper is calling on the state government to relax its "draconian measures" and "heavy handed" approach to at least the north west corner of the state, given the only active case in the Mildura local government association which takes in Murrayville was in early April.
'I have always maintained that we would not begrudge a state from protecting its population but at the same time under the federal constitution any sanctions or rules imposes on another state's people needs to be proportionate," she said.
"If you look at the scientific data it doesn't support having harshness the SA govt is taking and the distress it is causing to those border communities both those on the SA and the Vic side, so there are grounds for the federal government to step in
Ms Cupper says if the SA government refuses to budge the Vic Premier Dan Andrews must step up and provide make shift fuel supplies available on the border especially to the Murrayville community, as occurred in the bushfire crisis.
SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens says the decision to abolish the cross border community arrangements to all but farm workers within 40kms of the border and Year 11 and 12 students has been taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19 into SA from Victoria, where there are approximately 7500 active cases.
"The intent is to protect South Australians as COVID-19 cases are being detected in the western districts of Victoria, with active cases in the Glenelg Shire, as well as Horsham and Warrnambool," he said.
Cross Border Community Members currently represent approximately 1000 border crossings from Vic to SA each day.
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