By Mitchell Clarke
Deflated, frustrated and flat out angry, a number of Cardinia Shire residents have reportedly threatened to pack up and move interstate.
Numerous calls and emails from Garfield and Bunyip residents were recently made to the office of Narracan MP Gary Blackwood, who deemed the current restrictions “unliveable”.
“I think it’s very, very sad that people are wanting to leave because they see no light at the end of the tunnel,” Mr Blackwood said.
“Already there are businesses that may not reopen, there are many people living in self isolation with no family support and while the social bubble is a relief it cannot be set up by all in this situation, as good as these communities are at supporting each other.”
Gembrook MP Brad Battin likened the Premier’s roadmap out of Covid-19 as a “road block to business”.
He said it was paramount the government focused on reopening safely and getting business back up and running again.
“So many places can open safely and protect staff and customers but the Labor Government failed to listen,” he said.
“Daniel Andrews and Labor failed my communities to keep them safe and give them a start to rebuild our economy.”
When asked how he would handle the Covid-19 crisis differently, Mr Battin said he’d allow any sole trader, small business or organisation to open, provided they can operate with no public contact.
He would also welcome Preps to Grade 2s, Grade 6 and Year 11 and 12 students back to the classroom, with temperature testing, extra cleaning and staggered breaks.
Mr Blackwood said if he was elected, he’d reassess the status of various local governments including Cardinia, Geelong and Colac “without any hesitation”.
When revealing his roadmaps out of the pandemic, the Premier said the “real and meaningful“ sacrifices from the community was making a difference.
“This roadmap is about making sure we stay one step ahead of the virus – and making sure we don’t have to take another backwards step,“ he said.
“I understand there’ll be some people who’ll be disappointed, those who wanted more and sooner, but these are the steady and sustainable steps that our health experts tell us will see us out of this – safely.
“I say it often, we all want this to be over, and we all really do, but for this to be over, we each have to find it in ourselves to keep going just a little bit longer. We’ve all come too far, given too much, to see it wasted.“
