Wimmera identities have criticised South Australia's timeline for easing restrictions on Victorians.
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On Tuesday, premier Steven Marshall said all Victorians would likely be able to travel to the state again before Christmas, on the condition they quarantine for two weeks on arrival. He has also said five consecutive days of no cases and no deaths were not enough to expedite lifting the ban on non cross-border travellers.
As of 12.01am today, Cross-border community members are no longer be required to undertake a weekly COVID-19 test before travelling between the two states.
Mr Marshall did not set a date for the relaxing of the Victorian border like New South Wales has for its border with Victoria.
Mr Maher, the Victorian Farmers Federation's Wimmera president, has a son working as a truck driver in Adelaide and a daughter in Western Australia.
He has not seen either of them for months, and said the quarantine proviso did not make sense after "five days in a row without a case in Victoria".
"My son is returning here on November 25 to be my header driver for harvest, he got exemptions from his work spot," he said. "He'll then be able to visit his grandparents, and in their 80s with medical issues, and his girlfriend. He's hurting, and when people start making political decisions over people's social wellbeing, that starts to hurt and grate."
Mr Maher farms at Lubeck, 154 kilometres east of the South Australian border. Only residents within 70 kilometres are considered cross-border community members.
"It's all a bit ridiculous to be perfectly honest," he said. "If I want to go to South Australia and don't want to isolate, it is possible: Get on a plane in Melbourne, fly to Darwin and drive to Adelaide."
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On Wednesday, South Australia recorded two new cases of coronavirus, taking its overall tally of active cases to 13. West Wimmera Shire Council last recorded an active case of coronavirus on August 5.
"It doesn't seem like a logical decision, but a political one (not to open the borders)," Mr Maher said. "It's gone past the stage where medical priorities are first and foremost; we're into political priorities."
For Western Australia, after November 14, every state and territory will need to record a 14-day rolling average of less than five community cases per day of COVID-19 for Western Australia's easing of border restrictions to be introduced.
Member for Mallee Anne Webster said it was "about time" state borders began opening to Victorians, but more concessions were needed.
"We have still got health concerns, a lack of medical expertise and specialist care: There are doctors that can't come across because they have to quarantine when they come home," she said.
"The work we're doing is still advocating for individual cases so they can be with loved ones when they are dying, it's just been atrocious."
Dr Webster said the case of Kaniva mother and daughter Tiarnee and Mabel Dyer, the latter who needs to travel to Adelaide for medical appointments, highlighted the lack of "logic".
"Mabel is still limited to telehealth, and that is not what her mother wishes," she said. "We are moving fast to a point where people should be able to see their doctors when they wish to."
Mr Marshall said on Wednesday that South Australia was waiting to see the effects the easing of some restrictions on Victoria's daily case numbers.
"You can't count a day of no community transmission when there are very heavy restrictions and low mobility. It's in an unreal situation," he said.
"We think within a fortnight, provided we continue to have low numbers, we will be able to move to the same situation New South Wales was in.
"We are not going to jump to early on this one: The consequences of getting this wrong could be catastrophic."
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