Queensland travellers grounded as options for overseas travel expand

The Prime Minister has announced the removal of a significant barrier to international travel, but it will still be easier for Queenslanders to reunite with loved ones overseas than at home. VOTE IN OUR POLL

Queenslanders can more easily reunite with loved ones overseas than at home, with Scott Morrison announcing a significant barrier to international travel would be removed from next week.

The state government is holding firm that it will not allow international travellers – even fully vaccinated Queenslanders – to enter without quarantining until 90 per cent of the state is jabbed, creating a bizarre situation where Sydneysiders and Melburnians can fly to London but not Brisbane for reunions.

The Prime Minister on Wednesday said Australians wanting to leave the country no longer needed permission, meaning Queenslanders can go overseas provided they can stomach lengthy delays to get home and two weeks in quarantine.

Australians wanting to leave the country no longer need permission.

Tourism heavyweights are urging Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to open up to inter­national travel at 80 per cent vaccinated – in line with NSW and Victoria – after widespread confusion from Queenslanders on where they can and can’t go.

Even a Queenslander trying to get around the rules by flying overseas and returning to Sydney or Melbourne would have to quarantine on arrival in the Sunshine State regardless of whether they had spent 14 days south of the border.

Once the 80 per cent threshold is met, a fully vaccinated person from Melbourne can enter the state before a double-jabbed person from London in a situation that has tourism leaders fired up.

Waiting longer than necessary would be a hit to business confidence, they said, and could bite the tourism industry in the longer term.

“I can’t see (the difference) between a fully vaccinated person from Melbourne and from London, there’s no science behind it,” Flight Centre boss Graham Turner said.

“We need a co-­ordinated approach … for all to take the same approach as NSW and Victoria.”

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said the government should “seriously consider” using the same rules that apply in Victoria and NSW once December 17 hits.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that double-vaccinated Australians can leave the country without seeking exemptions. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gary Ramage

“Planning is important and perceptions are important … if there is a perception growing among airlines that people can do just part of Australia, that would be detrimental to not just Queensland but the whole country,” he said.

Authorities say there’s no room for compromise in the Covid-19 road map, telling people to get jabbed if they want freedoms sooner.

Latest data shows 61.79 per cent of Queenslanders are fully protected, while 76.13 per cent have had one jab, nearly 20 percentage points behind NSW and Victoria.

“The road map is very, very clear … we need everyone to reach those thresholds,” chief health officer Jeannette Young said.

Brisbane-based travel agents have reported an increase in inquiries, with some coming from confused Queenslanders who couldn’t make sense of Australia’s mishmash of border restrictions.

“In the last few weeks there have been a lot of people ringing just to ask us to help them understand the government rules,” Hello World Travel Spring Hill spokeswoman Colette Rosso said.

“They are very difficult for us to understand and it’s even more difficult for people to understand. It’s very confusing, so there have been a lot of questions.”

Orbit World Travel executive director Michael Chase-Smith said inquiries into overseas travel had increased by four or five times in the past two weeks nationwide.

He said the border remaining closed to southern states “stifled” things for families, and was confident families torn apart by domestic border restrictions would be seeking alternative holidays overseas to reunite.

Mr Morrison said allowing double-vaccinated Aussies to leave the country without an exemption was proof the ­national plan was working.

“Today I can tell you Australia’s first-dose vaccination rate is now higher than the UK. (It’s) already higher than the US … as a percentage of the whole population so well done Australia,” he said.

The announcement came just hours after Singapore announced Australia had been added to its growing list of vaccine travel-lane countries, meaning travellers will not have to quarantine on arrival from November 8.

Originally published as Queensland travellers grounded as options for overseas travel expand