Gladys Berejiklian refuses to apologise for blocking ACT residents at Victorian border

The New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian has refused to apologise for blocking Canberra residents at the Victorian border, despite her government previously clearing them to transit through the state’s south on their way home.

Tuesday marks the Canberrans’ fifth day at the border after a sudden rule change by the NSW government on Friday rendered their permits to travel through the state by road invalid.

On Monday evening, those trapped at the border received an email from the ACT government suggesting they make accommodation arrangements in the border town of Wodonga.

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“We should note that the issue may still take a few days to be resolved, and suggest that if you are in Wodonga or the Wodonga region, that you find some accommodation for the coming days,” an ACT government official said in an email sent to trapped residents.

“We have been working hard towards a resolution with the NSW government, however, unfortunately, we are yet to receive a definitive outcome.”

The residents were initially granted permits by the ACT and NSW governments to transit through the state to get to Canberra on Friday.

But police blocked them at the border due to a last-minute change to NSW travel restrictions the night before – made without any real notice – requiring those travelling to NSW from Victoria to fly through Sydney airport and enter self-funded quarantine there.

Berejiklian on Tuesday refused to back down from the decision. She said arrangements were being made to deal with the Canberrans, but said she would not apologise for the decision.

“I don’t think anyone would begrudge us for being cautious when people from highly infectious area, a highly infectious state, are trying to make their way through NSW,” she said.

“I do understand that health and police and other authorities are getting to a place where that issue can be resolved, but I can’t apologise for putting safety first in NSW, and I won’t.”

The ACT government has offered to send police officers from Canberra to the border and personally escort all residents back to their homes, ensuring they do not stop anywhere in NSW. Once back in the ACT, the residents would enter a two-week quarantine.

This offer has not been accepted by the NSW government.

“People have to stop on the way,” Berejiklian said. “So it’s not just about the escort, it’s about making sure wherever they stop is done in a way that is safe and keeps residents safe.”

The drive takes roughly three-and-a-half hours, making it unlikely residents would need to stop along the way.

Former ACT chief minister and Labor senator Katy Gallagher told ABC radio on Tuesday morning the NSW government was being “unreasonable”.

“The ACT government has tried to do everything it can to persuade New South Wales that there’s a good plan in place to make sure that people are brought home and that they are no risk to New South Wales. There’s the sound of crickets from New South Wales.

“I’ve spoken to a number of people in this situation, it’s deeply distressing,”

Gallagher said it would be “crazy” to force people who had only travelled in relatively safe rural Victoria to enter Melbourne, a Covid-19 hotspot, in order to fly to NSW.

“To be told you’ve got to drive into where you know people are being told to avoid in order to get home … just seems crazy to me, particularly if there’s a safe way,” she said.

Guardian Australia has been told that some residents had been sleeping in their cars while they wait.

The NSW deputy premier John Barilaro suggested the Canberra residents might pose a danger to NSW if they were allowed into the state for transit.

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“We take responsibility for the millions of people who are NSW citizens,” he told the ABC. “As these people leave Victoria they will stop at a petrol station, probably your local McDonald’s along their journey in regional and rural NSW, where our health infrastructure is not up to the standard that can deal with an outbreak of the pandemic that we are facing.”

He was also asked about reports that federal MPs have been allowed to cross the border from Victoria to Canberra using exemptions given by NSW.

Barilaro described unequal treatment of that kind as “unacceptable”.

“I personally am not aware of that. But if that has occurred I am one that has always applied the rules to both politicians and the public in the same way and I’ve been very vocal about the past three to four months about anyone who has broken those rules,” he said.

“In this case, if MPs were given special treatment to cross the border at the same time when we were denying ACT residents, well those residents should be upset, and I think it’s unacceptable.”

In the email sent on Monday evening, the ACT government offered finical support to those in need, urging residents to call the territory’s Covid-19 helpline. Numbers of mental health helplines were also included in the email.