Push for Mildura-Based Quarantine Facility To Aid Incoming Travellers

A numbers of driving factors may help establish a dedicated quarantine facility for border residents in Mildura.

The Member for Mallee, Anne Webster is pushing for the facility as a way of supporting businesses. 

"The premier has halved the intake of hotels in Melbourne. It would ultimately be the ideal outcome if we can fly people into Mildura." 

Flying travellers into a Mildura hub is a cost-effective way of getting regional citizens home safely, avoiding the Melbourne or Sydney hotel process.

"Having local citizens, I am all for them. No one wants to have family come in and be stuck in Melbourne or be stuck in Sydney hotels if they can do it locally."

The push for a regional quarantine facility comes after the introduction of a new farm working visa by the federal government.

Under the new Agriculture Visa plan beginning next month, residents and foreigners will be provided with a pathway to work in the farming sector.

Nearby, the Shepparton cluster has grown with 7 new cases linked to the current outbreak, a total of 23 cases now confirmed in the regional town.

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