BORDER DISORDER
PM: Open state up Palaszczuk D-Day AFL in disarray
TODAY is D-Day – the longawaited end of the month when under-pressure Queensland
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promises to “review” the state’s crippling border block and patron limits.
Gold Coast tourism operators and its airport boss have fingers crossed for eased restrictions and a reopened border – which Prime Minister Scott Morrison also remains in favour of despite coronavirus outbreaks in Victoria.
The surge has put AFL and NRL schedules into chaos.
Mr Morrison said South Australia and Tasmania had locked in border reopenings and “I would hope Annastacia Palaszczuk will do the same in Queensland”.
Gold Coast Airport’s Chris Mills said: “I hope July 10 will be the opening date. What it comes down to is certainty. We’ll not immediately swing back to where we were but it will allow us to start rebuilding.”
ALL THE LOCALS WANT TO TEAR DOWN THIS BARRIER
THE Gold Coast’s tourism and airport bosses’ border reopening hopes are up in the air after a chaotic day cast a cloud over an announcement due today.
In a day of major developments yesterday:
Victoria’s COVID-19 crisis continued to worsen with 75 new cases recorded while South Australia recorded three new cases, its first fresh ones in more than a month.
Australia’s peak doctors group said the Queensland Government would be justified in keeping the borders closed for another week or two given the escalating outbreaks.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there was no reason why Queensland’s border should remain closed.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will this morning review whether the latest round of restrictions, including the border reopening, will still come into effect on July 10.
But political appetite for a full-scale reopening is waning quickly as the Victorian outbreak worsens.
Instead of a border reopening, restrictions within the state could be relaxed earlier than July 10, including loosening social distancing rules within venues.
Last week the Prime Minister said his advice was one patron per four square metres could be reduced to two square metres.
A delay would be another blow to the Gold Coast’s already crippled $6 billion tourism industry which has seen more than $4.3 billion stripped from it in the past four months. According to data released by Federal Tourism Minister
Simon Birmingham earlier this month, Queensland was worst hit by the border block, shedding 1000 jobs and copping a $147 million hit to the economy every week it remained in place.
It would be particularly disappointing for Queensland Airports CEO Chris Mills who strongly favours the reopening as a critical step in reviving the city’s economy.
“I do hope July 10 will be the opening date because we have missed the school holidays period and any opportunity to benefit from the short-term boost that would be created but we have to accept that,” he said.
“What it comes down to is certainty – if we have the gates open we can start putting flights back on the schedule and journeys can be planned, all things which cannot be done right now.
“We will not immediately swing back to where we were before but it will allow us to start rebuilding.”
Gold Coast Airport now welcomes seven planes a week, down from more than 60 per day under normal operation.
Mr Mills said the resumption of domestic travel between states would allow the city to gradually return to around 40 per cent of its preCOVID air traffic.
“We do not know what the situation will be around the Victoria traffic, if they will be treated differently or if quarantine will be in place,” he said.
“There is uncertainty about Victoria but by the time we get to December and January domestic demand will be very strong for the Gold Coast and that’s what we have our eye on.”
Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said the tourism sector would respect medical advice and insisted safety came first.
But she said many struggling businesses would benefit from loosened social distancing restrictions.
“We need to ensure the health and safety of tourists and we have long advocated for a safe reopening of the borders as soon as possible,” she said.
“We hope Tuesday’s announcement will bring muchneeded relief to the sector and the easing of social distancing would mean many of our
I SEE NO REASON WE CAN’T GO AHEAD WITH THESE OPENINGS, THEY SHOULD GO AHEAD. PM SCOTT MORRISON
smaller operators will be back in business and this would be a massive win for the sector.
“It won’t just be having them survive but also providing them with the ability to earn more money.”
Queensland has two remaining active cases of COVID, with no new positive tests in the past 24 hours.
Mr Morrison on Monday said keeping the border closed was costing jobs.
“I would hope it will confirm the July 10 date. She didn’t offer any more on that on Friday (at National Cabinet),” he said. “I was pleased to see that both South Australia and Tasmania confirmed their reopenings.
“I see no reason we can’t go ahead with these openings, they should go ahead.
“It’s costing jobs in those states and I’m pleased those states have pressed ahead. I would hope that Annastacia Palaszczuk will do the same thing in Queensland.”
The Australian Medical Association’s Dr Chris Moy argued the State Government would be justified in keeping its border closed for another week, if not two, because of Victoria’s outbreak.
He said there were “genuine concerns” about the 150 new cases in the southern state in three days.