Lack of vaccine proof a hurdle in reopening Australia’s border with PNG, Home Affairs Minister says

Papua New Guinea’s lack of vaccine certificates will be a major stumbling block in reopening the border between the nation and Australia, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has said.

PAPUA New Guinea’s lack of vaccine certificates will be a major stumbling block in reopening the border between the nation and Australia, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has said.

But the progress of the coronavirus vaccine rollout in villages just kilometres from Queensland has not yet extended beyond a small percentage of frontline workers.

Under the Torres Strait Treaty, island residents can pass between Australia and PNG’s borders without passports or visas — an agreement that was only suspended in March 2021 when PNG began recording hundreds of new COVID-19 infections a day.

Minister Andrews, who was visiting the Torres Strait to inspect Australian Border Force’s operations in the area, said one issue impacting the reopening of the border was the difficulty in travellers proving they had been vaccinated.

Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

“Of course it can’t be a partial reopen, (the border) will be open or closed, it’s not like what we’ve been doing in airports … where we can stage aircraft arrivals,” she said.

Just 4km away from Saibai, in an area of PNG known as South Fly District, it’s understood about 35 per cent of target frontline staff have been vaccinated since the rollout began there in May.

According to the World Health Organisation, 38,176 jabs had been administered in PNG as of June 6.

The country’s population is 8.7 million.

This means the ring of containment through COVID-19 jabs is firming only on Australia’s side of the border, where Queensland Health has administered 2226 doses across Boigu, Dauan, Saibai, Thursday, Hammond and Horn Islands as of June 8.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison in March flagged a plan to work in co-operation with the PNG government and Queensland to support a vaccine rollout in the communities close to Queensland in order to “extend the protection net”.

He said the work on vaccinations “would be undertaken by the Queensland Government in the same way that they’re currently doing in the Torres Strait Islander communities”.

But it’s understood Queensland Health has not been requested to provide any vaccine programs in PNG nor have plans to.

PNG’s rollout there is being led internally by the Western Province Health Authority.

The Department of Foreign Affairs did not respond by deadline.

Cairns-based Labor Senator Nita Green said people in those border islands understood the need for the closures and restrictions but needed answers from the federal government on the status of the vaccine rollout in the region.

“Many people across the Torres Strait are at higher risk when to comes to Covid. Our priority should be to get as many locals vaccinated as possible to protect these communities and their vulnerable residents,” she said.

“The threat in this part of the world is very real, which is why we need a plan from the government.”