Morrison pushes for end to virus border wars - Sydney Morning Herald

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will use Friday's national cabinet meeting to call for an end to the virus border wars that have turned Victoria into a pariah state and put at risk the nation's economic recovery from the pandemic.

Queensland and South Australia's decision to keep their borders closed to all Victorians in response to a spike of COVID-19 cases in some Melbourne suburbs has alarmed the business community and tourism operators who fear it will establish a damaging pattern for future local outbreaks.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with his "roadmap'' for pandemic recovery.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The decision of both states to maintain a hard border closure is in contrast to the more targeted approach of NSW, which on Wednesday announced heavy penalties including jail for anyone caught travelling to and from NSW and Melbourne's hot spot suburbs, while keeping its southern border open to other Victorians.

Premier Daniel Andrews vowed to press Victoria's case in private discussions with his South Australian counterpart Steven Marshall and Queensland's Annastacia Palaszczuk, who has elevated border security to a campaign issue before October's state election.

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A campaign attack ad endorsed by the Queensland Labor Party warned a change in government would cause Queensland to be "flooded with Victorians". Mr Andrews declined to comment on the ad, which was withdrawn from social media circulation on Wednesday.

"There are ways to push back," he said. "You might choose to do it at a media conference or you might choose to do it one on one."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has resisted the urge to point the finger at other states.Credit:Eddie Jim

Victoria recorded 72 new cases on Wednesday, bringing to 370 the number of active cases in the state. The rate of transmission by unknown causes – 20 new cases – is the highest it has been since the pandemic reached the state.

Mr Andrews appointed retired Family Court judge Jennifer Coate to lead an inquiry into the failures that enabled the virus to spread from two quarantine hotels into the community. DNA tracing has linked a significant number of cases to security guards at the hotels.

Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the decision to keep state borders closed to Victoria was not supported by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, which since the onset of the pandemic has maintained that domestic borders are not an effective means of containing the virus.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is campaigning on tough border controls leading up to the state election.Credit:Bradley Kanaris

Mr Morrison has consistently stressed the need for open borders and warned the states on Tuesday against overreaction to local outbreaks.

"There will be hotspots and you can't just shut Australia up every time there's an outbreak," he said. "We need to ensure our economy builds back with confidence and with resilience."

Ms Palaszczuk, whose handing of the pandemic has boosted Labor's electoral prospects, said she was sick of Queensland being singled out for criticism and suggested Victoria should have closed its own borders earlier.

The borders of Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and Northern Territory remain closed to other states, but only the Northern Territory has committed to open theirs to Victorians outside the lockdown zones.

Economic modelling commissioned by the Australian Tourism Industry Council estimates that for every day the borders stay shut, Australia loses $84 million in gross state product and sheds 704 jobs. The economic hit and job losses are most pronounced in Queensland.

ATIC executive director Simon Westaway urged the national cabinet to end what he described as a "Neanderthal debate" and reach consensus on a border policy that prioritises the national interest.

"The virus doesn't recognise a line on a map," he said. "Border closures are terminal when it comes to business confidence, let alone people spending money and doing things."

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive James Pearson said Australia needed to respond to localised outbreaks with targeted, proportionate measures, rather than blunt measures that would damage the economy.

"Business across the country looks to the national cabinet to take a unified position on these issues and to encourage the freest movement of people and goods and services across the federation as they can," he said.

Restaurant & Catering Association chief executive Wes Lambert said it was worrying that, when faced with the first localised outbreak of cases since the initial wave of infections, state governments had "knee jerked to the most extreme response".

"We have stopped the reopening of the economy in the second-largest state in Australia because of a localised increase in case numbers," he said. "If the same thing was to happen in other jurisdictions, will the reaction be the same?"

Melbourne residents living in 10 suburban postcodes where outbreaks are occurring entered stage three lockdown just before midnight on Wednesday.

Police-enforced restrictions mean people leaving and entering those postcodes for anything other than an essential purpose can be given on-the-spot fines.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said anyone caught entering NSW from those postcodes would face fines of up to $11,000 and potentially six months in jail. He described the Melbourne outbreak as very serious, but issued a warning to his own state: "Don't get cocky, don't get complacent, it could happen here."

Mr Andrews conceded the decision to impose restrictions according to postcode meant some suburbs that hadn't recorded COVID-19 cases in the recent outbreaks were now subject to lockdown.

He said the decision to enforce the lockdown by postcode, rather than suburb, was taken on health advice. "This is a legally enforceable lockdown and you need to have the most certain lines on the map," he said.

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2020-07-01 13:32:34Z
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