PEOPLE from border communities have basically been locked out of South Australia even if they are within the 40km zone allowable for a permit.

Member for Mildura Ali Cupper said a permit requirement that border travellers from Victoria needed proof of a negative COVID-19 test within the previous seven days was disastrous for border communities like Murrayville.

“Basic health services in places like Murrayville are scarce, so the notion there is large-scale access to COVID-19 testing is not realistic,” Ms Cupper said.

“But that’s now irrelevant, because even if people in places like Murrayville could access a test, Victoria does not allow asymptomatic testing.”

Ms Cupper said Di Thornton and her team at Mallee Border Health Centre at Pinnaroo had been inundated with requests for people wanting COVID-19 tests.

“This once again highlights how people in border communities have been negatively impacted by rules which are disproportionate to the risk,” she said.

Ms Cupper has backed a call by Ms Thornton for a testing station at the border, similar to places like Naracoorte and Bordertown.

Ms Cupper reiterated her call for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to get the Federal Government to intervene in the hard border closure issue by appointing a Federal Minister for Temporary Borders.

That Minister would draft and manage new borders – not bound by LGA or state lines – to minimise the disruption to low-risk border communities.

“We have seen example after example of how both South Australia and New South Wales’ hard border closures have ripped apart border communities,” Ms Cupper said.

“This situation is untenable, and there are no indications how long these harsh measures will be in place.”