Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Gerard Maley, says reports a group of Victorian residents
was able to travel through the Northern Territory to Western Australia, unchecked, despite
the entire state of Victoria being a declared hot spot at the time is alarming.
“Until 6.00pm last night, the whole of Victoria was considered a COVID hot spot. If we had
health officials manning our borders, anyone identified as arriving from Victoria during that
hot spot declaration would have been immediately directed to either the Howards Springs or
Alice Springs quarantine facilities.
“The likely possibility this group was able to roam unchecked through the NT and were only
picked up last Sunday when they entered Western Australia in extremely concerning. We still
have no idea how long this group was in the NT and where they stopped off along the way.
“The Tanami Road, where the group was reportedly intercepted by WA police, runs from the
Stuart Highway just north of Alice Springs and past the remote community of Yuendumu
through to WA.
“The health advice is that our vulnerable Indigenous population and those living in remote
communities are at greater risk from COVID-19. Right now, they’re being let down by the
Gunner Government’s decision to leave our borders unmanned.
“It’s clear we can’t rely solely on the current numberplate recognition system. Police simply
don’t have the resources or the staff to man our borders, that’s why we should have health
officials on our border checkpoints during hot spot declarations to keep all Territorians safe,”
said Mr Maley.