A larrikin potato farmer struggling through Victoria’s Covid lockdown has jokingly called for a ‘Donald Trump-style wall’ to keep Melburnians out of his idyllic coastal community.
Residents in the glamorous Mornington Peninsula are fed-up with having to abide by the same harsh lockdown restrictions as Metropolitan Melbourne, despite being over 100km away.
The community is calling for the Andrews Government to reclassify the popular getaway for the rich and famous, scattered with wineries and rich agricultural land, as a regional area so it can escape the gruelling stay-at-home orders of the big smoke.
Health authorities lifted lockdown restrictions for regional Victoria last week, but did not include the Mornington Peninsula in the reopening – despite some areas much closer to the capital being granted freedom.
Residents in the glamorous Mornington Peninsula are fed-up with having to abide by the same harsh lockdown restrictions as Metropolitan Melbourne, despite being over 100km away (pictured, Sorrento)
Residents in the the popular getaway for the rich and famous want to be reclassified as a regional area to escape the stay-at-home orders (pictured, Mills Beach on the peninsula)
Richard Hawke, a sixth-generation potato who runs the Hawke’s Farm Gate said: ‘We are following the same rules as metropolitan Melbourne but we’re on a farm,’ he told A Current Affair.
‘It defies logic a little bit but I guess their reasoning is that they can’t stop people coming down here.
‘I wish there was a magic boom gate which could stop people from coming down and enable us in the Mornington Peninsula to open up.
‘One of Donald Trump’s walls,’ he joked.
A nearby winemaker said his once thriving business has been devastated by the shutdown.
‘Although we are thankful for all the support we have received, it only represents about 0.8 of a per cent of our expenses we have had in the last year,’ 10 Minutes by Tractor winery owner Martin Spedding said.
‘It needs to change and recognise what the Mornington Peninsula is … an agricultural and rural area.’
Adding to the community’s frustration is that Victoria’s second-largest city Geelong, on the western side of Port Phillip Bay, only 75km away from Melbourne was classified as regional and allowed to reopen
The town of Mornington (pictured during a previous lockdown) is seen relatively quiet with cafes open for take away and people socially distancing
The popular beach town of Rye (pictured) is seen completely empty during a previous lockdown
Health authorities lifted lockdown restrictions for regional Victoria last week but did not include the Mornington Peninsula in the reopening (pictured, Mornington Pier)
Adding to the community’s frustration is that Victoria’s second-largest city Geelong, on the western side of Port Phillip Bay, only 75km away from Melbourne was classified as regional and allowed to reopen
‘We’re an hour and a half away from Melbourne and they’ve opened Geelong and that’s only an hour away,’ local resident Kelly said.
‘We’re going broke down here and people need to work.
‘We’re a fair distance from everybody so we should be able to open.’
Last month Mornington Peninsula Mayor, Despi O’Connor, wrote a letter to Premier Daniel Andrews pleading with him for a ‘more tailored approach to ease restrictions’ and noted they community only had one Covid case in the past 10 months.
A view of the Melbourne skyline from across the Port Phillip Bay on the Mornington Peninsula – with the area suffering the same gruelling lockdown as the state capital
The coastal community is famous for its beaches and scattered with wineries and agricultural land (pictured, Portsea Young Lifesavers)
But during the past 30 days that figure has now shot up to 15 active cases with many locals blaming outside visitors.
Victoria on Monday recorded a further 473 transmissions as the worrying sign the Delta outbreak continues to surge.
‘We haven’t heard back from the Premier at this point,’ Councillor O’Connor said.
‘I think the restrictions are going to depend on where everything is at the time because it’s likely when we do open up we’re going to get cases and our healthcare system is going to have to deal with that.
‘Visitors to this area have been a real problem right from the start. We’ve had visitors down here right through this.’
The mayor of Mornington Peninsula sent this letter to Daniel Andrews last month but has not heard back. There are now 15 active cases in the community