The Roadmap to Hell Paved with Home Detentions
Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur has said that the roadmap for reopening regional Victoria will be devastating for countless communities that are predominantly unaffected by the virus.
The thresholds for moving between stages are predicated on 14-day averages across the entire regional Victoria.
Mrs McArthur said, “The one-size-fits-all approach adopted by the city-centric Labor Government continues to debilitate country Victoria.”
“It is totally absurd that we could end up in a situation where pubs and restaurants can’t open in Horsham because of a cluster 450km away in Sale, or vice versa.”
“Much of my electorate is closer to Adelaide than the country towns in the far-east of the state, with whom they are subjected to identical restrictions, regardless of differences in case numbers. Frankly, much of my electorate would much prefer to be governed by Adelaide than Melbourne as of late.”
“There’s no real reason why the Victorian Government can’t have targeted restrictions for specific areas of regional Victoria – it’s just laziness.”
“This roadmap for regional Victoria epitomises this Government’s inside the tram tracks approach to all issues facing the state.”
“We need to get rural and regional Victoria up and moving, not locked down for any longer when there are minimal or often zero cases in many country towns.”
Mrs McArthur also said that Victorians shouldn’t forget why they will remain under lockdown for months to come, potentially until the new year if case numbers don’t reach the ambitious thresholds required to move to lower stages.
“Victoria is the victim of this roadmap to nowhere because Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick, Reason Party MP Fiona Patten and Greens MP Samantha Ratnam signed away their future by voting for the State of Emergency extension.”
“These MPs received a combined total of just over 100,000 votes but have determined the fate of over 6,000,000 Victorians. Six million Victorians are now poorer for their subservience to Labor.”
“It’s beyond belief that the Parliament could vote on an extension to emergency powers before learning of the plan or knowing how such powers will be used, and even more astonishing is the fact that anyone could have voted in favour of it.”
“Mr Meddick, Ms Patten and Ms Ratnam voted to ravage Victoria’s hospitality industry, small businesses, mental health, the unemployed, educational outcomes, country towns, and the lives and livelihoods of Victoria’s private sector employed citizens."
"It’s a high price and one that the whole nation will be wearing for decades to come.”
7 September 2020