Borders confusion
TASMANIA’S tourism lobby is calling for a coordinated approach to domestic travel as interstate premiers yesterday clashed about when their borders would reopen. Premier Peter Gutwein has refused to give a clear timeline on when Tasmania’s travel restrictions would ease.
TASMANIA’S tourism lobby is calling for a co-ordinated national approach to domestic travel amid conflicting dates being thrown about by state premiers.
The plea from the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania comes as Premier Peter Gutwein refuses to name a date for reopening the state’s borders.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has named mid-July as the restart for domestic travel, under the road map to recovery from pandemic lockdown.
In a sign the national unity over the shutdown would not continue in the reopening phase, the premiers of NSW and Queensland battled over when borders would reopen.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian hit out at Queensland counterpart Annastacia Palaszczuk, who said her state’s border with NSW may not reopen until September.
Ms Berejiklian wants travel to resume in early July.
Tasmanian Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the varying dates were “a joke”.
“It’s quite amazing that governments can be so united about shutting everything down and be on such different tangents when it comes to relieving restrictions,” Mr Martin said. “It’s just frustrating seeing other states using completely different messaging,
New South Wales saying July, Queensland is saying September. Our Premier is keeping his cards close to his chest.”
Mr Martin said Mr Gutwein had at least been consistent in his message around Tasmania’s strict border controls.
“We need to come up with some clear plans around reopening. People are very anxious at the moment and having to make medium and longterm decisions about their businesses,” he said.
Mr Martin said the Tasmanian tourism industry faced “economic armageddon” if travel remained banned until September.
Mr Gutwein yesterday refused to be drawn on a date for Tasmania to reopen for domestic travel.
“I’ve made it very clear that when it comes to our borders that we will open them when it is safe to do so,” Mr Gutwein said in a statement provided to the Mercury.
“Regardless of those calling for borders to open at any cost, I will not rush this and risk a potential second wave at this time.”
Speaking on ABC Radio Hobart yesterday, Mr Gutwein said that he would “hope sometime later this year, based on public health advice, we would be able to relax our border controls. It will depend what’s happening in other states, and we have no control over that”.