Albury-Wodonga transport and distribution services company, Border Express, has issued letters to its staff in the hope they will be able to cross the border, until permits are issued.
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No time-frame has been announced for when people can apply for these permits, or how long it will take for them to be issued.
Border Express director Geoff Luff said he did not know any more about the arrangements than what had been announced publicly.
"What I know is they're closing the border at midnight tonight, and what we're doing is giving our employees letters to say they are essential service workers," he said.
"The forms [to apply for a permit] aren't up yet.
"We're hoping to get by with letters, to say they work Border Express.
"What we've found, is the guys who travel up and down the highways - Queensland has been closed for some time, as has South Australia and Perth - have had some hold-ups, but they've been getting through.
"We assume going from NSW to Victoria, or vice versa, will be the same.
"I assume there will be common sense, that they will see a truck coming and wave it through."
Mr Luff said he didn't know what the closure configuration would be on the freeway.
"They may shut the freeway and put everyone on the causeway - we don't know - but that would cause astronomical delays," he said.
"Wherever they stop them, it will have to be a place where they can do a u-turn if they are turned back, and there aren't many places to do that on the freeway.
"Realistically, they should have done it at Euroa or Seymour."
Mr Luff said the Victorian Transport Association had issued a statement yesterday, but the closure had "caught everyone on the hop".
"We haven't stopped for one day all the way through, and we keep doing what we're doing," he said.
"You just have to take it as it comes, if we're an essential service and get through, it will be all right."
But like all businesses, Mr Luff has staff who live in Wodonga and work in Albury, and he said there would be issues if his yard manager and assistant at South Albury could not get approval to cross the border and come into work.
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Ron Finemore managing director Mark Parry said their drivers had been issued with letters to cross Queensland and South Australia border lines.
"We have distribution centres, such as the one at Barnawartha [in Victoria], with most stores on the NSW and ACT side," he said.
"The last letter we gave employees was March, and we've updated the letter with today's date.
"If the governments of the states and the police take the view that they did in Queensland, it will be relatively seamless for transport companies.
"Once the government makes the permits available, we'll apply for those for our drivers, and we had to do that in South Australia.
"The major issue is getting the employees and drivers in their cars across the border to come into work; we need them in order to operate safely and reliably.
"Clearly, getting clarity on permits and giving sufficient time for those permits to be done before they stop everyone at the border would be very advantageous.
"I think if the common sense approach is taken with trucks, that's one benefit, but you still need to get the staff and drivers in their cars across into work ... like we do for emergency services, health workers, and everyone who is an essential worker."
Mr Parry said many truck movements were scheduled to take place just before midnight tonight, and many trucks were scheduled to return to Victoria past midnight.
"Most of our trucks get loaded and moved from the distribution centre then, so that the food and produce is there for customers first thing in the morning," he said.
"We'll have lots of trucks looking to get across the border prior to the closure, and looking to get back.
"We support whats happening, certainly given what's happening in Victoria with COVID, it's making sure we balance the intent with the importance of people moving around.
"All the information coming through is a common sense approach will be taken for the Albury-Wodonga region and we await further detail with bated breath."
The Transport Workers Union Victorian & Tasmanian Branch issued a statement on Monday, saying trucks must continue to move between borders without any issues.
The union is seeking, among other things:
- Clarity that trucks will still be allowed to cross state borders and that truck drivers will be exempt from self-isolation requirements
- Clarity about any measures in place at border crossings to check trucks and truck drivers crossing, whether this includes temperature checks on drivers, etc