During the past month I have participated in a number of media interviews regarding the closure of the state border with South Australia.
These media requests have increased lately, with the idea being floated of a bubble of 100 kilometres each side of the border for tourism purposes.
However, we should realise where 100km brings us to, and how few towns in the Wimmera would be included. The new boundary would be west of Dimboola and basically include Kaniva, Edenhope and Nhill.
The South Australian tourism industry would have a lesser financial return than the cost to all of us policing an area inside Victoria.
What we need is a common-sense approach to continue allowing those people living near the border to cross over to their place of work, or for medical and business purposes.
However, there does not seem to be a realistic approach to patients needing to access specialist services in Adelaide, or specialists coming to the Wimmera from South Australia.
To have to isolate for 14 days before seeing a doctor simply because you cannot get there and back in 24 hours does not make sense.
With the increase of coronavirus outbreaks in Melbourne, we all need to get the message out there that if you don't feel well, don't travel, stay at home. Don't spread the disease into this area.
The Federal Government has announced financial assistance to Local Government to improve infrastructure across our shires.
We received $1.52 million, and are working through how to allocate the money. A large portion of it will go to road works, and a number of community projects will also benefit.
These are usually projects that would have been difficult to fund in small communities with limited resources. We are very grateful for the funding announcement, which will make a huge difference across the shire.
The Victorian State Government has also announced it has a funding pool for large projects, which requires council to lodge formal applications.
We have made application for potential funding for a community centre in Goroke, and sporting change rooms in Edenhope.
There is no guarantee that these applications will be successful, but one would hope the money is distributed fairly and evenly across Victoria.
Let's hope life gets back to normal soon, so we can have community meetings and functions.
Councillor Bruce Meyer, West Wimmera Shire Council
