'It's like Braveheart... they take our freedom again': Furious mayor slams decision to cut border town in half over a small outbreak in Sydney 570km away

The mayor of a NSW-Victoria border town has slammed Victoria's decision to cut the community in half days before Christmas because of a coronavirus outbreak 570km away in Sydney.

A brief border grace period expired for Victorian residents coming from greater Sydney and NSW hotspot areas at midnight on Tuesday.

After that the border slammed shut as the Covid-19 outbreak on the Northern Beaches rose to 83.

Kevin Mack, the mayor of Albury, said Albury–Wodonga said locals were not taking the changes well, in fact 'it's been a disaster'.

'Last night there was 20km of snake trail running on the freeway from Table Top to Wodonga and now we've got problems on the Causeway at 6 in the morning,' he said.  

A brief border grace period expired for Victorian residents coming from greater Sydney and NSW hotspot areas at midnight on Tuesday. Pictured: Police and ADF at the border  

'I think the people in my community, Albury and Wodonga, are sick and tired of this.'

Mr Mack said it was important for Australia to pull together during the pandemic and it was sad the border towns were  'double hit' by the health crisis.  

The mayor said 24,000 vehicles travel through the two towns each day, with the majority being local motorists getting to and from work and appointments.

'I really can't understand why anyone, Victoria Police or anyone has bothered to lock this part of the city down and refuse us entry into Wodonga,' he said.

'It's a little bit like a scenario out of Braveheart again. They deny us our freedom again and I just don't get it.'

Mr Mack suggested the government should have looked to ban travellers from Sydney by closing Victoria at the freeway south of Wodonga.

Kevin Mack, the mayor of Albury, said 'it's been a disaster' since Victoria shut off to New South Wales again

Mr Mack said he thinks it's important for Australia to pull together during the pandemic but it's sad the border towns have been 'double hit' by the health crisis

He was worried about impact of the border closures on local businesses.

'The businesses were looking forward to a great Christmas, they were having bumper trade leading up to this point,' he said. 

'Now our streets are deserted again.'

The mayor urged Sydneysiders to 'do the right thing' and get tested for coronavirus.

'Really if you're coming to Albury or the border region, we love having you here at the right time, this is not the right time,' he said. 

NSW recorded 15 new locally-acquired cases on Monday after 38,500 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday.

A medical worker speaks with a driver at the Bondi Beach drive-through coronavirus testing centre on Monday

Pictured: Cars and trucks line up to cross the border at Albury-Wodonga 

The new cases were all connected to the so-called Avalon cluster in the northern beaches area.

Every state and territory has now blocked Greater Sydney residents from entering and some have blocked people living on the Central Coast and in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven regions.

Queensland, meanwhile, has from Tuesday reimposed NSW border checkpoints after some Sydneysiders attempted to enter the state illegally.

And also on Tuesday, NSW will begin forcing international aircrew personnel into police-supervised hotel quarantine arrangements.

The rule change comes after an aircrew was caught breaching requirements and going on a pub crawl in Mascot near Sydney airport. 

The mayor said 24,000 vehicles travel through the two towns each day, with the majority being local motorists