Comment: Putting off overseas arrivals is absurd, it’s time to move on

The 90 per cent double vax target for opening Qld’s international borders is unrealistic and as the Melbourne Cup shenanigans showed us, it’s past time we moved on with our lives, writes Peter Gleeson.

This year’s Melbourne Cup will go down in history as the race that re-started a nation.

The scenes at Flemington and at racetracks, pubs, clubs and parties across the nation was a metaphor for the post-Covid recovery.

And not before time. The mishandling of the pandemic in Victoria will hurt the country for years.

In NSW, despite hundreds of deaths, the momentum has now shifted to how do we live with the virus and ensure the economy gets moving again. The Perrottet Government remains the gold standard.

In Queensland, it’s all about doughnut days and protecting the public from the virus. With the worst vaccination rate in the country, Queensland remains committed to opening the borders on December 17, albeit hundreds of thousands of unvaccinated people will be exposed to the Delta variant.

Spectators living it up during the 2021 Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington racecourse on November 2. Photo by Diego Fedele/Getty Images

The real issue for Queensland is the lack of international tourists. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she won’t lift the two week mandatory quarantine on overseas arrivals until the double vaccination rate hits 90 per cent.

That’s absurd. Queensland may never hit 90 per cent vaccination. There is a cohort of crusty souls out west who simply won’t have the jab.

Remember people like Clive Palmer, Pauline Hanson and Bob Katter resonate in the country. It is becoming increasingly clear that if you want to enjoy life with a semblance of normality you must be vaccinated.

Those scenes on Cup Day were so uplifting. It’s said that the Melbourne Cup is the race that stops a nation, but in many ways it united Australia and in many ways drew a line in the sand.

It is clear that people have had enough of the border closures, lockdowns and the dislocation to people’s lives. Some of the scenes we’ve seen at the NSW-Queensland border have been heart-breaking. There are scores of people living out of their cars in northern NSW.

The congestion at the border is horrendous, with some people taking their kids from Tweed to a Gold Coast school being delayed by two hours every morning and afternoon. It has been a dark stain on Queensland’s hardline stance.

That’s why this summer is so important for the country. Confidence is such a critical word for the economy’s future.

Crowds at the Melbourne Cup broke out in dance as the cup finished - for some the first time they have partied since the pandemic was declared. Picture: Jason Edwards

Australians yearn for the pre-Covid days. But we’re not immune to the dangers of the virus, and how it could impact our health system.

But we’ve been a tolerant and obliging lot. We signed up to the lockdowns and the border closures after politicians told us worse-case scenarios on death rates.

As the champagne flowed and people let their hair down on the first Tuesday of the month, the Melbourne Cup did what it does best – brought people together.

It’s time we took back our lives and started to look forward, not live in the past. Verry Elleegant might have won the Cup but Aussies took home the bigger prize.

We must be careful and fully vaccinated and get on with life.

In Queensland, the Palaszczuk Government clearly has polling suggesting people are running out of patience.

That means we’re likely to see the government bring forward the December 17 opening date, acknowledging that people have been separated for too long, and that tourism in particular is hurting.

The 90 per cent double vax target before opening the international borders is unrealistic.

Why would Queensland’s political leaders give the rest of the country a massive head start on bringing overseas tourists to the Sunshine State?

The Melbourne Cup has shown us we are much better together.