Victorian trapped in NSW due to border closure blasts government’s ‘disgusting’ move

A Geelong man who was stuck in an Albury caravan park for 33 days due to COVID-19 border closures says the Victorian government’s decision not to apologise or provide compensation to those impacted is “incomprehensible”.

The ombudsman found Victorians locked out of their home state were treated “inhumanely” and recommended they be compensated, but the Andrews government has quietly rejected that recommendation.

While Denis Leahy wasn’t trying to cross the border to see sick loved ones, some others who were affected were, and he says the government’s failure to apologise to those people is “disgusting”.

But he says he’s “not surprised”.

“They seem to be fairly not accountable to mistakes or discussions they’ve had, or decisions that don’t seem reasonable,” he told Neil Mitchell.

Mr Leahy has sought to be refunded $857 for accommodation costs and says he feels for other who’ve been left out-of-pocket.

“There were a lot of people who didn’t have that option and they were staying in hotels or cabins and they would have been grossly impacted,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear why Mr Leahy thinks the decision is “disgusting”