Neighbouring states preparing to re-open borders with Victoria

NEW South Wales and South Australia have agreed to work with Victoria to open their borders as soon as the coronavirus situation is under control.

The three states will also immediately implement a new code to allow agricultural workers to cross borders.

But Western Australia is refusing to sign up to Scott Morrison’s plan for interstate travel in a COVID-normal Australia by Christmas.

The Prime Minister said on Friday that it “felt like Australia could break apart” at times during the pandemic, as he ditched the national cabinet’s consensus model, saying it set “the federation up to fail”.

Instead, he said the nation’s leaders would push ahead where they could agree, with states and territories — except Western Australia — deciding that, by December, border restrictions would target COVID-19 hot spots.

“In the absence of a vaccine, we may have to live this way for years,” Mr Morrison said.

Queensland supported the plan but is continuing to enforce its tough border rules.

“Our federation, almost 120 years later, remains a happy work in progress,” Mr Morrison said.

“It is not surprising that (states and territories) all have different outlooks about what their challenges are.

“I’m not going to hold Australia back when one or two jurisdictions don’t wish to go along with the path that the country is seeking to go down.”

While the exact definition of a hotspot is a work in progress, the commonwealth’s advice is that it should be triggered when a metropolitan area records more than 10 cases per day for three consecutive days.

Mr Morrison revealed the hotspot plan would also apply to New Zealand, meaning tourists could fly across the ditch to visit Australia before the end of the year.

With 23,000 Australians still stranded overseas, the national cabinet also agreed to adjust the weekly cap on overseas arrivals, as long as international flights can be diverted away from Sydney to limit the strain on its hotel quarantine.