The inconsistencies in legislation and the rules and regulations that then flow, when you have two state jurisdictions, have been about for just as long as the border itself has existed.

For the most part the Border community has not let these differences cause any great problems.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Albury-Wodonga is very much a community that has found ways to thrive, something that is reflected in the area's great diversity.

We're not a one-industry place; more so, we live in an area where there a multitude of opportunities.

Something that flows from that is the flexibility of our labour market. Both employers and employees or prospective employees know that such connections will be made where this suits best.

MORE OPINION

This is demonstrated every day on the Lincoln Causeway as vehicles with NSW registration plates head south and vice versa.

But, as it has done in so many other ways, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned that on its head.

Border closures and Victoria's penchant for lockdowns have prevented many people from getting to work.

If you're deemed an essential worker, such as in the public health sector, you've been able to make the journey.

But outside of that has been a hazy mess of those inconsistencies and the almost ridiculous.

Anecdotally it's something many of us have probably heard of or experienced, such as those Wodonga residents who, for example, work in Albury's retail heart.

What is more concerning though is the revelation by Benambra MP Bill Tilley that some Albury businesses are not taking on Wodonga workers because of lockdown uncertainties.

We cannot say how widespread this issue could actually be, but this is something that still needs to be greater consideration in light of just what constitutes an essential worker.

When someone's livelihood, when their family's basic income relies on a person being able to get to work, there can be little more "essential" than that.