Andrews’ government accused of double standards on decision not to grant travel exemption for Rip Curl Pro surfers

More than 1000 tennis players and their entourages were allowed into Melbourne before the Australian Open. So why weren’t 120 surfers and their support staff allowed in? It’s a question one local politician wants answered.

The State Government will not say if it considered quarantine locations outside of Melbourne for international surfers wanting to compete at Torquay over Easter.

The long-running Rip Curl Pro will not run at Easter this year and a World Surf League (WSL) event will instead run in New South Wales.

The Geelong Advertiser asked the state government why it didn’t lift the international travel cap to accommodate about 120 surfers and others for the Rip Curl Pro, and if it wanted the event to be held at Bells Beach over winter.

Stephanie Gilmore rings the bell after winning the Women's Final of the 2018 Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. Picture: Jason Sammon

But a spokesman did not respond to any of the Advertiser’s questions.

Victorian Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson said it was the Labor state government’s “mismanagement” that led to the Rip Curl Pro not going ahead at Easter in Torquay.

“The Victorian Government’s mismanagement is solely to blame for the loss of the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro from Victoria,” Ms Henderson said.

“National Cabinet agreed last year that quarantine arrangements for arriving travellers would be managed by each individual state and territory.”

The State Government granted an exemption to the travel caps that allowed about 1200 tennis players and their entourages to arrive in Melbourne before the Australia Open kicked off this week.

But the World Surf League’s request for an exemption for about 120 surfers to be chartered into, and quarantine in, Melbourne for the Rip Curl Pro was not granted.

That meant the WSL moved its Easter event to New South Wales.

The decision has left Surf Coast traders fearing massive losses, in some cases up to six figures, over Easter.

Ms Henderson said the Andrews government had managed the issue badly.

“While the Victorian Government sat on its hands, the New South Wales Government managed to respond quickly to the (WSL’s) request for 120 surfers and support crew to fly into Australia which resulted in the competition moving to Newcastle.

Victorian Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson. Picture Gary Ramage

South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman said the chief health officer’s advice was that it was not safe to hold the Rip Curl Pro in the lead up to winter.

“The advice is, to keep Victorians safe and stop a third wave (of COVID-19), ... is to not have events like this take place when there is a real risk,” Mr Cheeseman said.

“At this stage there’s no proposition on the table of having a surfing event with surfers in Torquay (later this year).

“If the world surf organisation wants to explore that as an option we’d welcome those conversations with them.”

Mr Cheeseman said he was not aware of the “minutiae” of discussions between the WSL and the state government’s tourism arm Visit Victoria, and could not say if it had offered to quarantine surfers in hotels outside Melbourne.

On Sunday a state government spokesman said getting Australians home was the focus of hotel quarantine.

“Victoria’s hotel quarantine system is the most rigorous and risk-averse in the country and that means it is also the most resource intensive,” the spokesman said.

“Given the stated priority of accommodating returning Australians, we were unable to provide the World Surf League with a guarantee regarding quarantine places for international surfers within the time frame required by them.

“We continue to work with the World Surf League on plans for the Rip Curl Pro and will have more to say in due course.”

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Originally published as Andrews’ government accused of double standards on decision not to grant travel exemption for Rip Curl Pro surfers