Border communities in Queensland and New South Wales are again preparing for life with restrictions.
With the number of COVID-19 cases escalating in regional NSW, the Queensland government has made the decision to close the border from 1:00am on Friday.
Mungindi grain grower Sam Heagney said the conditions of this border closure appeared to be more considerate of border communities and their needs.
"As long as it works out practically, that's all we really need," Mr Heagney said.
Mungindi, a cross-border community north of Moree, felt the pain of last year's closure more acutely than most towns.
It lost its only supermarket and butcher in a fire last year, and restrictions at the time meant residents could not travel to buy food at Moree without locking themselves out of Queensland.
Mr Heagney said restrictions throughout 2020 changed regularly and said communities like his would remain alert for any deterioration in the NSW outbreak.
"One of the things that is frustrating for everyone is that the goalposts seem to keep shifting," he said.
"There's already enough of a staffing shortage so we don't need it made worse by border closures."
Essential reasons
Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young said people living in the border zone would be allowed into Queensland for a limited range of reasons including:
- healthcare
- work
- education
- essential shopping; and
- providing care to vulnerable people.
Dr Young said Queenslanders will be able to travel into the NSW border zone for similar reasons, but no further than the designated area.
If a person has been in other areas of NSW outside of the border zone, they would not be able to enter Queensland for 14 days since they were in those areas.
Border restrictions
Queenslanders will not be allowed to cross the border for things such as weddings, funerals, to visit friends and family, or to see a sporting event.
"Across the country we are seeing how much of a risk COVID-19 remains, especially the Delta variant," Dr Young said.
"I know it has been challenging but we need to remain vigilant until a much larger proportion of the community is vaccinated."
Dr Young said the four-week NSW hotspot declaration was being put in place for a range of reasons including increasing numbers of infectious cases south of the border.
Anyone who has been in any part of NSW after 1:00am Friday will not be allowed to enter Queensland.
Police presence
Inspector David Preston from Queensland Police said the border closure will be "identical" to the last time NSW residents were shut out.
"We've been on standby and … prepared for a number of months waiting for a decision such as this to close the borders again. It's one of those things where we have to be in a state of readiness," he said.
"Nothing's new, it's the same.
"We've found last time we managed this way it was very successful and it actually restricted a lot of people's travel into Queensland."
Police will be manning the borders from midnight, with Queensland Department of Transport staff assisting officers.
Inspector Preston said despite requests, the Defence Force would not be able to help with the latest border closure.
Border residents will need to complete a Queensland Entry Pass every 14 days unless they have travelled outside the border zone, where they will need to reapply.
Inspector Preston said there would be harsh penalties for anyone who tried to get through the border without a pass.
"Anyone that skips the border and tries getting across at different locations could be potentially looking at a $4,000 fine," he said.
