Dear Prime Minister and Minister Hunt,

I write regarding the Canberrans currently waiting on the border of Victoria and New South Wales, unable to travel home to Canberra due to NSW regulations. As you would be aware, these people had obtained the relevant permissions to travel through NSW and into Canberra only to have them rescinded at the border during their transit.

Constituents have contacted me about this issue since Friday and despite common sense solutions put forward by the ACT Government, the NSW Government has so far refused to act. Constituents report that they have been told to expect several more days delay before the issue is resolved. This is clearly unacceptable. Furthermore, encouraging these Canberrans to travel back to Melbourne and travel to Canberra by plane clearly puts them at more significant risk of contracting COVID-19 than continuing their drive to Canberra from the border.

I urge you to take action to ensure that these Canberrans can travel back home as soon as possible and continue to facilitate some form of transit options for Canberrans during the pandemic. Of course, safety must be our first priority but that does not mean that common sense solutions cannot be put in place to facilitate essential movement of people across Australia.

Alicia Payne MP

Member for Canberra