Outdated Covid-19 restrictions on NSW cruise ships to be axed
Outdated Covid restrictions forcing cruise ship passengers to be vaccinated will be axed by the Minns government following questioning by The Daily Telegraph.
NSW
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Outdated Covid-19 restrictions cruelling a luxury cruise industry worth more than $1.5 billion annually to NSW are set to be axed, after businesses warned lingering pandemic rules are placing a “handbrake” on the sector.
Businesses and the cruise industry have pushed for the protocols to be dropped since the ban on cruise ships was lifted last year, but following questioning from The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, Premier Chris Minns declared: “We need to move on and get life back to normal”.
“We’ll be removing restrictions on cruising, like the need for wearing a mask and having a Covid vaccination when boarding. There is no need for it anymore,” he said.
“Passengers should continue looking after their health before and during their cruise, including through vaccination … but Australia can’t remain the only country globally with these rules for cruising.
“These protocols were important at the time to get the cruising industry going again after Covid. They were never meant to remain forever.”
No official date has been given for NSW repealing the rules, but it is understood they could be dropped within days depending on negotiations with the Commonwealth and other states.
While the federal government’s official advice is that there is no requirement for travellers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 on board a cruise vessel, tourists are still being hit with conflicting rules depending on which state they visit.
NSW follows the Eastern Seaboard and Western Australian Cruise Protocols, alongside Victoria, Queensland and WA, which includes Covid-era guidelines such as passengers over 12 being fully vaccinated, mandatory health screenings and masks while embarking or disembarking.
Teresa Lloyd, the chief strategy and external affairs officer at cruise giant Carnival Australia, told a Business Sydney function on Tuesday these states were the last in the world to enforce such rules.
“We’re the only country in the world with Covid protocols that still exist. And there is no doubt that that’s a handbrake on demand,” she said.
She said the rules – which apply to passengers whether they board in NSW or travel here from overseas – were stopping passengers from booking.
It comes as NSW risks missing out a forecasted bumper summer season of cruising.
Industry figures suggest about 1.1 million domestic and international passengers will sail on a cruise ship in Australia this summer season, which runs from late October to late April.
Those numbers soar above previous years, including the 2017/18 season when about 870,000 travellers took to cruise ships, before Covid-19 decimated the industry and resulted in a two-year ban on cruise ships.
The eastern seaboard and WA cruising rules are based on advice from the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care, which earlier this month announced it was reviewing their guidelines.
Joel Katz, the managing director of peak industry body the Cruise Lines International Association, said conflicting advice between states and the federal government was hampering the industry.
“The current situation is very confusing for guests – we are constantly hearing from international guests who go on the Australian government website which says there are no cruising restrictions – but then when they get here (Sydney) there are,” he said.
“We are pushing the federal government to (finish) the review of protocols and to bring them into line with current community expectations.”
Business Sydney’s executive director Paul Nicolaou urged the NSW Government to move on the restrictions.
“We’re in a better position to manage Covid … we now need to move on. It’s the last sector that still has these restrictions,” he said.
“These restrictions are only hampering our ability to fully recover.”
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