OUR SAY: Common sense prevails, but border anomalies still grate

Shannon Barber is now allowed to visit his father in palliative care at Albury's Mercy hospital after originally being turned away because of his address.

Despite being fully vaccinated, the Wodonga resident was denied what other family members from Albury had been able to do.

Thankfully this decision was overturned, but it's far from the only example of disparity within our twin cities.

The border bubble is supposed to reflect the interwoven nature of Murray River communities but the impact of that state line remains severe.

Residents of Wodonga, Wahgunyah and Yarrawonga face another week in lockdown while their counterparts in Albury, Corowa and Mulwala are far less restricted.

Since the pandemic began, the NSW and VIctorian governments' contrasting approaches have thrown up galling anomalies.

Businesses forced to shut south of the border while others only a few kilometres away stay open, students adjusting to remote learning as friends nearby keep walking into their school yard.

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For many months masks were removed, with relief, once you crossed into NSW, but at least now that difference is not so great.

The pain hasn't all been one-sided, with NSW border businesses particularly suffering when denied Melbourne patronage.

Victoria's pause on red zone permits, announced yesterday, is not aimed at border residents.

"The border bubble is as it was," Premier Dan Andrews said.

"I don't want to have to change that unless I have good reason to, unless, for instance, there is evidence of cases from Sydney coming into that bubble."

So it seems one careless, reckless or downright criminal visitor could be enough to end the bubble and spark a return to every state for themselves.

Mr Andrews' words in one sense are reassuring, but remind us that, once again, our community remains at the mercy of those who don't live here.

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