Borders on the agenda
Tourism lobby wants clearer guidelines
A NEW road map for border restrictions will be discussed by Scott Morrison and state premiers today as tourism bosses push for a national approach.
It comes after Qantas boss Alan Joyce and the Australian Tourism Industry Council called for states and territories to adopt clearer national guidelines on border restrictions, warning some appeared “politically driven”.
IT FEELS LIKE THERE’S NO REAL BASIS FOR THE DECISIONS, IT’S THERE JUST TO INFORM THE POLITICS.
A NEW road map for border restrictions will be discussed by Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders today as tourism bosses urge a more transparent, national approach.
The national cabinet will start to hammer out a set of high-level principles and guidelines to govern border closures.
The meeting comes after Qantas boss Alan Joyce and the Australian Tourism Industry Council called for states and territories to adopt clearer national guidelines on border restrictions, warning some appeared “politically driven”.
Political leaders will also discuss Australia’s vaccine strategy and plans to bring in seasonal workers from overseas to pick fruit and vegetables, after concerns farmers wouldn’t be able to get enough Australian workers to fill the jobs and there would be grocery price spikes as a result.
Mr Joyce criticised border closures between states with no cases as “more politically driven” than “medically or scientifically based”, as he announced on Thursday that Qantas had recorded a $1.9bn loss for 2020 due to coronavirus. His remarks came just days after Tasmania extended its border closure until December 1.
“Surely these decisions should be based on the facts, the health advice and the level of cases that we’re seeing around various states,” Mr Joyce said.
“Otherwise it feels like there’s no real basis for the
QANTAS CHIEF ALAN JOYCE
decisions, it’s there just to inform the politics. We’re not saying open the borders blankly. We’re saying let’s have the rules to say what would you have to see in order for those borders to be open.”
The ATIC has pitched two proposals for a national strategy on border closures.
One would trigger a framework for reopening after 14 days of no or “nondescript” community transmission.
The second proposal would require borders to reopen during the week after there was no or nondescript community transmission after 28 days.
Premier Peter Gutwein said Tasmania would ease border restrictions “when it is safe to do so”.
The Queensland and West Australian premiers and Northern Territory chief minister in particular have been accused of keeping their borders shut to other COVID-safe states and territories for political reasons ahead of upcoming state elections.
“I don’t think we should be dictated to by public polls,” ATIC executive director Simon Westaway told a Senate inquiry on the government’s management of COVID-19 on Thursday. He told the committee modelling showed state border closures cost the nation an estimated $84m daily.