Border residents who have suffered through a year of unprecedented challenges might well have been wishing the end of 2020 would come sooner than it did.
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We all knew the challenges that have beset us would not disappear at the stroke of midnight on December 31. We might have hoped, though, that the worst was behind us. We might have hoped to enjoy the day, to toast the end of 2020 with family. Or at least, for the optimists among us, that we might get through the final day of a horrid year without another nasty curve ball.
The state government very much believes the move is in the best interests of the people of Victoria, and there is no doubt that is the intention. But the timing, and the ridiculous timeframe given to travelling Victorians to get back to their home state was nothing short of a disgrace.
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Further, it was an insult to the enormous sacrifices made by the people of Victoria in 2020. By and large, the people of Victoria - whether in the hotspots of Melbourne or in our own communities of the North East - did the right thing to contain a dangerous second wave of coronavirus, a second wave that was able to take hold because of government and bureaucratic failings.
What a way to thank the people of Victoria on New Year's Eve. Adding more insult to the injury was the complete lack of answers about how the system would work, and what it meant for border communities.
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It created stress, anxiety and panic, and led to droves of Victorians just packing up from wherever they might be to try to get home, many facing long drives they were ill-prepared for. When you consider the dangers of that, the argument that this decision was made in the best health interests of Victorians is laughable.
If governments are going to pull these sorts of moves in our "best interests", when will they learn to show people some respect in doing so, and have all the answers that people need at hand - toot sweet.
