The West Australian government has scrambled to fix "farcical" border rules that were forcing residents to travel from one end of the country to the other to quarantine.
The situation was turning workers away from Kununurra amid a severe labour shortage, while residents stranded interstate were demanding an immediate solution.
Kununurra residents with approved G2Gs were being turned around at the town's border checkpoint and being told they instead had to quarantine 3,000 kilometres away in Perth.
On Friday afternoon the Member for Kimberley, Divina D'Anna, revealed the government's about-face on the issue.
"I can now confirm that from February 5, people who reside in East Kimberley (within 200km of the border) who can provide evidence of their residence and who are approved travellers will be permitted to enter via road at Kununurra and undergo their permitted quarantine at their approved residence," she said.
But the government's backflip came too late for Kununurra cotton farmer Peter Blokland and his partner Julie Grams, who attended the funeral of their son-in-law in Queensland in late November.
They were turned away at the Kununurra road border — just 40 kilometres from their home — and are quarantining in Perth.
"Very heart-wrenching, I tell you," Mr Blokland said.
"I can't understand why they've made us come to Perth to quarantine, other than it's a power trip. I don't know what it is because I just think it's bloody ridiculous."
Workers baulk at country-length detour
The ABC understands that people moving to Kununurra for work may also be allowed to quarantine in the town, however those details are still being worked out.
Lake Argyle Resort sits just inside the WA border and is less than an hour's drive from Kununurra.
Owner Charlie Sharpe said just prior to the government's reversal that he was desperately trying to find interstate staff ahead of the dry season tourist rush.
He said seasonal hospitality workers would normally drive to the East Kimberley, but half a dozen potential employees had dropped out after being told they would have to quarantine in Perth.
"To think that one size fits all in a state the size of WA is ludicrous," he said.
"I'm really hoping common sense prevails."
Tourism industry could face horror season
As anger was vented about the border rules, more broadly tourism bosses say the decision to delay the border opening will likely force businesses to close while millions of dollars in revenue is lost in cancellations.
Australia's North West chief executive Natasha Maher has written to industry bosses and politicians warning that businesses in dire need of staff are considering not operating this season.
She told the ABC that millions of dollars could be lost.
