The mayor of Goulburn will consider asking the ACT government to implement a permit system so residents of his region can avoid getting stuck in queues at the territory border should restrictions remain in place.
The ACT government implemented further border restrictions at 12pm on Saturday that effectively barred anyone that had been in Greater Sydney or another COVID-19 hotspot from entering the ACT.
An ACT Policing checkpoint on the Federal Highway has resulted in delays of up to several hours for motorists, including residents of nearby NSW towns such as Goulburn.
While noting that border restrictions had only been in place for a few days and needed time to play out, Goulburn Mulwaree mayor Bob Kirk said the council would discuss the matter with the ACT if issues persisted.
"With people going back to work [shortly], it would be good to arrange some sort of pass to let [residents of neighbouring communities] through and not hold them and everyone else up," Cr Kirk said.
However, he noted council staff only returned to work on Monday after the Christmas shutdown and there were no plans in place to approach the ACT government unless a need arose in future.
Cr Kirk said he viewed Canberra as a hub for the whole of south-eastern NSW and that many towns in the region were heavily integrated with the capital, separate only for administration.
