NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has called it a "calculated risk" but a "step in the right direction".
Border restrictions with Victoria will go at the end of the month — just in time for plans to get underway for Christmas and the school holidays.
NSW closed the border on July 8 following the surge in COVID-19 cases in Melbourne, which began at the end of June.
The Premier's move was aimed at mitigating any danger from Victorians unwittingly bringing the virus in, like the outbreak at the Crossroads Hotel in Western Sydney, after a Melbourne freight worker went to the hotel on July 3, sparking a cluster that led to at least 58 cases.
Now, four months later, as Victoria continues its winning run of no new coronavirus cases, the border wall is coming down.
What's happening?
The NSW Government will reopen the border to Victoria at 12:01am on Monday, November 23.
All requirements for border permits and quarantine requirements will be dropped.
The Government is claiming that it is the only state or territory to "make all Australians welcome," according to a NSW Health spokesperson.
"Whether people travelling from Victoria will be allowed to enter other states after passing through NSW is for those states to decide," Ms Berejiklian said.
She said the decision came after a conversation with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday morning and a conversation with Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the weekend.
Why now?
There are three main forces at play here.
Firstly, the run of zero cases in Victoria continues to lessen the degree of risk.
Secondly, the reopening date follows a two-week period after the Victorian Government lifts the "ring of steel" border on November 8 between Melbourne and regional Victoria, which allows Victorian residents to travel freely around the state.
The lifting of the "ring of steel" essentially gives NSW a two-week watch-and-wait period to see whether free movement across Victoria will have any impact on coronavirus numbers.
Ms Berejiklian said, in general terms, easing restrictions may lead to an increase in cases, but states had shown the ability to get on top of outbreaks.
"Unless there is something very extraordinary which occurs between the date that Premier Andrews allows Melburnians to move throughout Victoria and November 23, I don't foresee us changing that date," she said.
"I'm confident we can stick with that [timeline]."
The reopening date on November 23 also allows people to plan for Christmas and the summer holidays.
Will I need to quarantine?
No — it is a completely reopened border. This means there are no restrictions and no need to quarantine.
People travelling from Victoria will be free to go and stay wherever they choose in NSW.
However, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has said authorities will strengthen processes to control contact tracing across the two states and will work closely with Victoria.
"Our priority will remain protecting the health and safety of the community," Dr Chant said.
NSW also announced on Wednesday it is making QR codes in hospitality venues mandatory from November 23, which will strengthen contact tracing.
What's happening with flights?
Following the announcement yesterday, airlines have scrambled to reinstate capacity on the decimated Sydney to Melbourne route
Qantas and Jetstar said from November 23 it would run 250 flights a week across five routes — capacity for 48,000 seats — and would look at adding more based on demand.
At the moment, it's only running about 10 flights — pre-COVID-19 this number would be about 100 flights a day.
Qantas will run flights from Melbourne and Mildura and Sydney from November 23. It will add a Bendigo-Sydney service from December 7.
Jetstar will operate Melbourne to Sydney, Ballina and Newcastle from November 23.
Qantas domestic and international chief executive Andrew David said the border opening was "fantastic news".
"When you consider the social and economic impact of border closures, we've always said things should open up as soon as it's safe to do so."
Virgin Australia will run four return services a day between Sydney and Melbourne from November 23 and will continue to increase capacity in the run up to Christmas.
It said it planned to have more than 20,000 seats a week by Christmas, and would also bring in flights to Ballina and Coffs Harbour.
Services between Melbourne and Newcastle will run from November 24.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said: "[Wednesday's] announcement will help to restore confidence in the tourism and aviation sectors and provide certainty in terms of jobs and our ability to increase flying."
What will it mean for airlines?
The decision is a drastically needed lifeline for airlines.
In normal times, the Sydney-Melbourne flight route is the busiest in Australia.
It also is the second most important in the world for revenues after British Airways' New York-JFK to London Heathrow route, according to Professor Rico Merkert, who is chair of transport at the University of Sydney Business School.
He said airlines relied on domestic routes, which were less competitive and more profitable than international services.
"The national border shutdowns to Victoria and Queensland had a very negative impact on Australian aviation, arguably more so than the international border shutdown, with both Qantas and Virgin having at some stage more than 90 per cent of their fleets grounded … revenues and cashflows collapsing, both airlines cutting jobs and Virgin going into voluntary administration," he said.
He said he expected services to bounce back to pre-COVID levels but "significant losses" had occurred.
What about Queensland and Western Australia?
Who knows?
Queensland remains shut to Greater Sydney, despite opening to regional NSW from November 3.
From November 14, people in NSW can enter Western Australia but must self-quarantine for 14 days.
Ms Berejiklian said the reopening of the movement with Victoria highlighted the "absolutely nonsensical" approaches Queensland and Western Australia had taken to borders.
"The announcement by NSW is a logical one, but what it highlights is the lack of logic that Queensland and WA have placed in relation to their border strategy," she said.
It was a sentiment echoed by Qantas' Andrew David.
"New South Wales has led the way in taking a sensible, risk-based approach to borders that's supported by what is probably one of the best contact tracing programs in the world," he said.
"It's great to see New South Wales and Victoria working together on what is a national issue.
"Queensland and Western Australia are unfortunately taking a different approach, which doesn't seem based on a realistic assessment of risk."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTA1L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLW5zdy12aWMtYm9yZGVyLXJlb3BlbmluZy13aGF0LWRvZXMtaXQtbWVhbi8xMjg0ODkxMNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjg0ODkxMA?oc=5
2020-11-04 18:12:00Z
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