Little River residents will be reunited under the same set of restrictions, with the border between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria adjusted to go around the community instead of through it.
A change would be made to the Chief Health Officer’s directions from 11:59pm on Thursday 22 October so that the entire town of Little River would be removed from the metropolitan Melbourne restricted area.
Little River is the only town on the metropolitan border which is divided by the current border. The border will be updated to follow boundaries around the northern side of Little River, rather than Local Government Area (LGA) boundaries – which saw the town divided in two.
The metropolitan border will now end at Wests Road, Bulban Road, Edgars Road and Argoona Road, before connecting again with neighbouring LGA boundaries.
The current Victoria Police checkpoint at Princes Highway turnoff into Little River will remain in place due to physical infrastructure requirements and police will continue to enforce the new border.
Little River residents who were previously on the metropolitan side of the border can now move into the same Step 3 restrictions as the rest of regional Victoria.
This may mean some residents will need to apply for a work permit if their work is located in metropolitan Melbourne.
For more information about current restriction levels visit: coronavirus.vic.gov.au
Quotes attributable to Member for Werribee Tim Pallas “The border between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria has been vital to containing the spread of coronavirus, but we know that this measure has had wider impacts for the Little River community.” “Adjusting the ring of steel to go around Little River instead of through it will alleviate any confusion and unify this community under the same set of restrictions.”
Quote attributable to Member for Lara John Eren
“Changing the border will make life a little easier for people in Little River – but residents will still need to make sure they are following the restrictions that apply to regional Victoria.”