The Scott Morrison government has given an extraordinary ultimatum to state premiers, calling on them to reopen state borders by Christmas when vaccination rates hit 80 per cent.
Some states, like Western Australia and Queensland, have been reluctant to toe the line on national cabinet’s four-phase reopening plan set out by the Doherty Institute.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday said that premiers who don’t open up means that “Australians will suffer”.
“If we don’t stick to the national plan, our debt burden will increase. If we don’t stick to the national plan, the wellbeing of Australians will suffer,” he said, criticising Labor premiers Mark McGowan and Annastacia Palaszczuk, who said they may not open should case numbers be high in other states.
“We need to vaccinate people but we need to open up safely in accordance with that plan at 70 to 80 per cent.”
The treasurer also threatened to cut off federal funding and COVID support payments if they refuse to follow the plan.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian also urged other premiers to learn to live with the virus and commit to opening up borders as the vaccine programme rolls out.
“It’s impossible to eliminate the Delta strain,” she said.
“New South Wales had proved successful until this point in terms of getting rid of other strains of COVID.
“The Delta strain is a game changer and every state in Australia sooner or later is going to have to live with Delta.
“That’s why I’m calling on all my colleagues … to stick to the national plan, to make sure we give our citizens not only the freedoms they deserve but also learn to live with COVID as soon as we can.”
An open letter was sent by 80 of Australia’s top business leaders urging state governments to offer a “clear path out of the current lockdowns”. The letter is signed by major businesses which represent the employers of almost a million Australia. These include Coles, Telstra, Shell, all of the big four banks, Woolworths, Wesfarmers and Qantas and more.
They called on the premiers to “stay the course” and open borders, as under the Australian Constitution, the power to control borders rests solely with the state governments.
A copy of the letter:
We, the undersigned, represent businesses which employ almost one million Australians, and provide products and services to people right across the country. We have seen how effectively this country can come together over the past 18 months – with state and federal governments working alongside communities and businesses.
We have seen the effectiveness of lockdowns in suppressing the virus last year, and in slowing its spread today while we vaccinate the population as quickly as possible. We are encouraged by the building momentum in the vaccine program, with Australia now administering more doses per capita each week than the UK or the US ever achieved in their programs.
At the same time, we can also see the impact of lockdowns on our people, on our customers, on our small business suppliers, and on communities and families right across the country. Australia is juggling a mental health emergency at the same time as a global pandemic. Some of the impacts of current lockdowns are hidden, and the effects will be long lasting.
As vaccination rates increase, it will become necessary to open up society and live with the virus, in the same way that other countries have done. The National Cabinet has agreed to a roadmap which provides a path out of lockdowns, with an easing of restrictions from 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination rates. We need to stay the course.
Informed by modelling from the Doherty Institute, it balances the risks from COVID in a more vaccinated population, with the risks of indefinitely keeping our country divided and cut off from the world, our children out of schools, our friends apart from loved ones, and our small businesses closed.
Businesses will continue to do whatever we can to support our people to get vaccinated and to provide a safe environment for our customers and the community, including the prioritisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as originally intended.
We ask governments to work together to implement the National Plan and chart a path out of the current lockdowns. Providing a light at the end of the tunnel will encourage more Australians to get vaccinated. We need to give people something to hope for, something to look forward to, something to plan around, and to be confident about their futures.
