NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro will lobby Premier Gladys Berejiklian to ease border restrictions as early as next week, after conceding the permit system has not worked as intended.
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The NSW Nationals leader promised to push for the travel bubble between NSW and Victoria to be extended up to 100 kilometres from the border and to rethink the permit system after meeting with residents and community leaders in Albury-Wodonga on Thursday.
Residents in cross-border communities have borne the brunt of the NSW government's decision to crack down on drivers entering from Victoria, as the state grapples with a high number of coronavirus cases.
Anyone outside the two-kilometre border bubble zone has been blocked from entering the state by road, with returning residents forced to fly from Melbourne to Sydney, where they have had to quarantine for two weeks.
The situation led to a diplomatic stoush between NSW and the ACT, after dozens of Canberrans were left stranded at the border for six days when their permits were scrapped without warning.
But the clampdown has been even more devastating for people who live on the border.
One woman who had given birth in Wodonga on the Victorian side of the border was told she had to quarantine for two weeks if she wanted to be reunited with her newborn child in Albury.
Mr Barilaro said it was this case and others that made him realise the permit system was broken.
"It's clear we're going to lose this community's goodwill if we don't react and respond to the issues they're facing [due to the border closure], including on their economy and mental health," Mr Barilaro said.
"They feel left behind while the rest of the state has freedoms."
Mr Barilaro will return to the area next week and said he wanted to "come back with some news".
"I'm going to work over the weekend to get some solutions," he said.
"The message here is that this community has borne the brunt of protecting millions of people in NSW and it's time this community gets a reprieve.
"Dr Kerry Chant said today she's optimistic that Victoria is stabilising and in that optimism is opportunity to find flexibility in the rules."
Nationals senator Perin Davey, who is based in Deniliquin near the NSW-Victorian border, has been inundated with calls for aid from constituents battling with the border travel bans.
In the tiny NSW town of Berrigan, the primary school has been running with fewer staff, as many teachers are based over the border in Cobram.
"There are no relief teachers around the Berrigan area so the school has to open with fewer staff," Senator Davey said.
She has also been contacted by a nurse based in regional Victoria who is studying at the University of Adelaide.
The student was told she couldn't undertake her practical assessments for the rest of the year because she lives in Victoria.
This is despite the South Australian government lobbying for and now leading the pilot to allow international students to enter the state to finish their degrees.
Most concerning was the impact the border closures could have on the agricultural sector.
With the winter crop harvest starting soon, contractors who normally work from Queensland all the way down to Victoria have been stranded.
Most travel with massive equipment, making the requirement to fly and isolate farcical, Senator Davey said.
She called for a national agricultural permit to be created, to allow workers to move between states despite the border restrictions.
Mr Barilaro said he would also welcome the creation of a national agricultural workers permit.
"Off the back of this crisis, we're going to have to go back to key industries to get us out of trouble," Mr Barilaro said.
"Once upon a time this country was built off the sheep's back.
"Farmers need this year's bumper season to get them through, so we need to relax the rules about how the agriculture workforce moves."
