NEW England MP Barnaby Joyce is imploring the federal government to take more responsibility on COVID-19 border restrictions, in the wake of the Victoria's call to end its lockdown.
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The former deputy prime minister believes the government should have sway on all COVID-19 contact tracing and border restrictions.
"Diseases don't care about an arbitrary line drawn on a map in around about 1840," Mr Joyce told the Leader.
"Protecting one side of an arbitrary line from another side of that line is patently absurd.
"The way we should be dealing with the pandemic is through epidemiology, not through parochial lines on a map.
"I certainly believe the federal government should be leading the way on this and there should be a uniformed approach for the nation, not states as individuals."
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The former Nationals leader's call comes after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Monday that state would begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions this week, as well as Tasmania's decision to allow NSW residents to travel to the state from November 6.
"When it comes to contact tracing we have got a number of different ways to do that accurately," Mr Joyce said.
"While I haven't supported the government's COVID-Safe app, I do support the notion of people scanning in upon entry into a venue, because it is their choice.
"We are also able to trace the disease via the sewage now as well, which means we don't have to soley rely on the honesty of people.
"Based on those methods and if there's no disease in Roma or Tamworth, there should be no problems for people to go between the two places for a cattle sale for example."
Mr Joyce said he believed a uniformed approach to the COVID-19 pandemic would have better outcomes for regional Australians.
"If there is no issue in a regional area, that area should remain open but if there is an outbreak in somewhere like Melbourne, that area should be locked down," he said.
"I think it needs to be run at a national level based on epidemiology of where the disease is and where it is not.
"The dealing of the pandemic should be done at a national level because it is a national issue."