CORONAVIRUS —
INTERSTATE BORDER RESTRICTIONS — KIMBERLEY
678. Mr
P.J. RUNDLE to the Premier:
I
refer the Premier to his comments to the media on 4 September, stating that WA
does not have border communities. What is the Premier doing to address
the concerns of border communities in the Kimberley, such as families in Halls
Creek and Kununurra who rely on access to the Northern Territory for essential
services such as medical treatment, small businesses in the Kimberley that
provide important services and products for customers in the Northern
Territory, and pastoralists and their staff on properties that cross state
borders?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
Clearly, one of the big issues in
the eastern states is Coolangatta and Tweed Heads. Along the Queensland and New
South Wales border, and even a bit inland, there are communities right on the
border. On the Victoria and New South Wales border there is Albury–Wodonga
and a few others that are split, basically, by the Murray River. Albury–Wodonga
is a big community. In South Australia there is Bordertown, appropriately
named. In Tasmania, there is not so much! In the case of Western Australia, we
do not have communities of that nature.
Mr P.A. Katsambanis
interjected.
The SPEAKER: No; you said
that three times.
Mr M. McGOWAN: In the case of
Western Australia, we do not have communities of that nature, where, literally,
people's lounge rooms sit on the border. We do not have that. That was
the point I was making.
Mr P.J. Rundle: We have
stations on either side.
Mr M. McGOWAN: I do not know what the member is asking
me. Our arrangements are designed to ensure that everyone remains safe and that
we keep COVID-19 out of Western Australia. The natural consequence of what the
member is arguing is that we bring down the border, and we are not doing that
at this point in time.