A South Australian government MP is pushing for regional input in that state's border decisions when his party meets later this week.
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It comes as the western Wimmera faces losing residents to South Australia permanently in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The South Australian government effectively banned Victorian residents living within 40 kilometres of the border from travelling to the other side from August 21, before reversing the decision a week later.
Member for MacKillop Nick McBride said he was hoping for further concessions for cross-border community members.
"I had some fruitful discussions with the premier (Steven Marshall) on Thursday last week, where I said we needed to have better decisions made from Adelaide," he said.
"I want someone from regional South Australia on our COVID transition committee so that tough decisions made against border residents don't go the wrong way.
"The reason behind these tough restrictions is that people in Adelaide when they make these decisions, don't know the consequences they have on the local communities on both sides of the border," he said.
"We have a meeting of the whole party at the end of this week, and I will be pursuing representation, so these issues don't come up again.
"I'm also pushing for both South Australian and Victorians to be able to travel a further distance in when they cross the border. Thirdly, I'm pushing technology such as geofencing, to help navigate this easing of restrictions: If Victorians set out to work with our authorities, then they're allowed to come and operate in South Australia."
Mr McBride did not say his government had made a mistake in implementing the travel ban on cross-border Victorians.
"The government is being guided by the authorities in Adelaide, and the authorities are acting in a way that is risk-averse," he said. "I think the balance and the knowledge of the implications of the border closure weren't fully understood. That is where I'm trying to get better information to those experts at the top level."
The plight of border residents cut off from their families, jobs and health services received nationwide attention last month, thanks in part to the efforts of the group Cross Border Call Out.
Founder and Apsley resident Paula Gust said the group was as busy as ever advocating for residents affected by the travel restrictions, even with the 40km zone back in place.
"An Apsley resident had heart surgery booked for Wednesday - it's been a 13-month ongoing thing," she said.
"He had been quite unwell and waiting for this, and his surgery is right to go, but by mid-morning Tuesday they were still waiting for approval from SA Health to go outside the 40km zone.
"He and his wife got their approvals in the last hour before they had to drive over.
"We won't stop: We didn't expect the group to grow this big, but it's a positive. We want to display we do have support from South Australians."
Mrs Gust said border residents had been "scarred" by the week-long hard border closure, and worried it could happen again if border towns recorded more cases of the virus.
"A lot of people are permanently relocating to South Australia, so they are not put in that position again," she said. "They are leaving their homes - whether they owned or rented in Victoria - and are buying in South Australia.
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"I can't imagine they would just sell up and go back. Naracoorte is our community: Our kids have done our schooling since kindy there, I was a financial planner there for ten years, our friends, our medical appointments. That would be the majority of the reason people don't consider going to Victoria.
"We considered it because our daughter Holly went to Naracoorte High School, but then we knew my husband Scott would be back in Apsley on his own, and with stage three in Victoria, he couldn't have mates come around.
"So instead of doing that, we sent our daughter to (Adelaide's) Seymour College boarding house, where we had planned to send her anyway. She'll start next week."
On Tuesday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews suggested regional Victoria would be reopened at a different rate to Melbourne.
Ms Gust said this would make a difference to western Wimmera residents even if the border closure stayed at its current level.
"It would be great if we were able to go around and see each other," she said.
OK to travel for appointments: Naracoorte Clinic
A Naracoorte-based practice says Edenhope residents are able to travel to South Australia for doctors' appointments.
Kincraig Medical Clinic practice manager Kate Foster said despite reports to the contrary, the practice's patients could travel to Naracoorte if they had the correct documentation.
"We do ask they wear a mask when they come in and wait in their car," she said.
KMC's Edenhope office has been closed since April, where it would normally operate twice a week.
It has redeployed some doctors to the Naracoorte Respiratory Clinic, a COVID-19 testing site run in conjunction with the federal government.
Ms Foster said the practice would assess later in the year whether to return doctors to the Edenhope clinic after the border reopened.
"We lost two GPs in July, so we wil have to look at what our numbers look like for next year," she said.
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Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
