Care workers and clients need to be helped not hindered

We need to make sure they are not, even inadvertently, being exposed to discrimination

In the interest of stopping the spread of COVID-19, the community has had no choice but to accept restrictions.

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That necessity has been further exacerbated by the recent surge in diagnosed cases in Melbourne.

As has been said in this column previously, there is no doubt the community has been united in accepting this new regime.

But as with any blanket regulations imposed from on-high, in this case, the NSW government, the daily reality quickly throws-up irregularities that carry far more than simply nuisance value.

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One very recent, ongoing example of the difficulties created by the permit system introduced to allow locals passage across the now closed NSW-Victorian border has been the impact on businesses.

Being one community, it would seem obvious to state that business owners, their staff and their customers live on different sides of the border.

The challenge remains for this to be fixed, in an environment where the NSW government likes to say, from Sydney, that it is listening even where it is not willing to directly engage in conversations with Border residents.

And now we have the unpalatable situation where inflexibility in the permit application system is causing pain for care workers needing to regularly cross the border to see clients.

Further, those with a disability are also having problems in trying to access their support services and related programs.

Regional Disability Advocacy Service executive officer Martin Butcher has highlighted one case where a man with intellectual disability couldn't cross because of an invalid permit.

"He thought he had a valid permit," Mr Butcher says.

"He didn't have the understanding that yes, the rules could change."

Rules are meant to be in place to protect people in these uncertain times, not to create stifling, unnecessary hardship.