Parliament should have been sitting in Victoria to sort out issues like border farmers being unable to cross into NSW to tend to their properties, a Nationals MP has argued.
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Benambra MP Bill Tilley did not make the trip from Wodonga to Melbourne for Thursday's sitting of the Parliament's lower house, as one of four pairs of country members in the government and opposition to agree not to attend.
But the border issues were raised by Gippsland MP Tim Bull, who said with the Parliament not sitting in recent months, many politicians were unaware of the impact of restrictions on country communities.
"Have a look at the fiasco of farmers who are unable to cross the border to tend to their stock or the farmer who was told he had to fly his hay to Sydney and have it transported back from the airport, rather than being able to take it over the border," he said.
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"Parliaments need to sit, parliaments need to meet to sort these issues out.
"Without regular sittings of Parliament, without scrutiny of the restrictions that are coming into place, we will have more flaws and more errors than we need to have."
Parliaments need to meet to sort these issues out.
- Victorian MP Tim Bull
The issue of agriculture border crossing permits remain unsolved, with federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud planning present a proposed code to National Cabinet on Friday.
