Today all in the Border and North East should be congratulated.
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The crossings between NSW and Victoria opened at 12.01am, ending 138 days of forced separations, long delays and a permit system at times confusing and frustrating.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she doesn't want to see the state line closed again in her lifetime - from those of us who lived with the impact of closure every day, we can only concur.
But the dismantling of checkpoints has not been the only welcome news from the weekend.
Masks have an undeniable place in controlling the coronavirus pandemic, but their mandatory presence in COVID-free regional areas has long been a sore point.
As Business Wodonga chief Graham Jenkin points out, too many Victorian shoppers have fled their home state, to the detriment of many small businesses.
Relaxing some of those rules is a step in the right direction, he says.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Lots of steps were taken across Albury and Wodonga on Sunday by people wearing yellow, participating in the virtual Sunshine Walk.
Despite all that's happened this year, hundreds of community members put COVID-19 to one side as they showed support for the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre.
Some walked to support friends and family undergoing treatment, others in memory of loved ones lost; all grateful that a vital medical facility is located here, not hours away.
The virtual fundraiser gave teams the flexibility to start where and when they wished, with participants completing routes in towns further afield.
It's perhaps fitting an event that endorses a centre within a community allowed people to take part without needing to travel to get there.
So congratulations to all who helped raise about $160,000 for the cancer centre, all who have endured masks each day and all whose daily life changed because of the border closure.
We made it.
