We can do better with lockdowns

-OPINION

BY PETER WALSH

LEADER OF THE NATIONALS

DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

Protecting public health must be the priority, but after more than twelve months the Labor Government has no excuse not to have a way forward that keeps us safe while minimising the social, economic and community impacts of outbreaks on regions that are COVID-free.

Our small businesses were just starting to get back on their feet after last year’s lockdowns – an impact felt even more keenly in Gippsland and the north east after the catastrophic bushfires.

In Mildura – a region six hours from the active cases in Melbourne and with no current active cases – the seven-day lockdown was expected to cost business owners more than $50,000.

At Wangaratta’s Quality Hotel, the week’s losses were expected to top $100,000.

The Marlo Pub – a well-known tourist mecca in East Gippsland, a region devastated by the January 2020 bushfires – expected to take a $70,000 hit for the week the pub was closed.

For the people who rely on a regular pay packet from these local businesses to pay the bills the closure will leave them finding it even harder to make ends meet.

It also put more pressure on essential services to meet the demands of our communities.

Elective surgery waitlists alone were expected to grow by 4000 people in a week of lockdown – on top of the 65,780 Victorians who will wait more than a year for procedures as a result of last year’s cancellations.

This will only continue to get worse while Labor stands by its policy of blanket closures to deal with isolated outbreaks.

Victorians have been locked down more than any other state.

In the same time, New South Wales has been able to get isolated outbreaks under control without statewide shutdowns.

NSW’s good contact tracing, bolstered by adequate resourcing and a strong QR code process, has spared families and businesses in regions with no active cases of COVID-19 from the sweeping devastation of lockdown.

Victorians deserve no less.

But more than 12 months and four lockdowns later, Victoria’s Labor Government still has no plan and no solutions to deal with outbreaks other than lockdowns that unleash total economic devastation on the entire state.

Like all Victorians, regional Victorians have done everything that has been asked of us – we stayed at home, we sacrificed time with family and friends. But with each snap closure it becomes harder and harder for businesses – and communities – to bounce back.