Prime Minister Scott Morrison shuts down NSW Premier’s ‘open for business’ border announcement

Despite NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet rolling out the welcome mat to the world, Scott Morrison has dismissed the plan in a matter of minutes.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has been served a warning from the Prime Minister, just hours after announcing his state would roll out the welcome mat for international tourists from November 1.

Earlier today, Mr Perrottet made the surprise announcement that NSW would say goodbye to both hotel and home quarantine, advising that the mandatory measure for returning vaccinated travellers

Mr Perrottet announced that returning vaccinated Australians – and even tourists – will be able to fly into the state from overseas on November 1, and providing they have a negative PCR test, enter society freely.

“From November 1, those people returning to Australia … and those who want to come back, who want to visit Australia and come to Sydney, hotel quarantine will be a thing of the past,” he explained.

Premier Dominic Perrottet announced massive changes on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip

“For double vaccinated people around the world, Sydney, New South Wales is open for business. We want people back. We are leading the nation out of the pandemic.

“Hotel quarantine, home quarantine is a thing of the past. We are opening Sydney and New South Wales to the world.”

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quick to dampen the new premier’s plans, saying tourists would be at the back of the queue.

“We are not opening up to everyone coming back to Australia at the moment,” Mr Morrison said on Friday.

“I want to be clear about that. We will take this forward in a staged way as we have done in all these things. It is for the Commonwealth and Federal Government to decide when the border open and shut at an international level and we will do that. We are not rushing into this.”

Mr Morrison said tourists won’t be coming back to Australia just yet. Rohan Thomson/Getty Images)

Mr Morrison said the first to be able to return will be Australian residents and their families, followed by skilled migration and international students.

“We will see how that goes … and then we will move onto the challenge of dealing with international visitors to Australia,” he said.

“Everything all in good time.”

Mr Morrison’s comments follow reports by Government sources that they were ‘surprised’ by the speed of the bombshell announcement at 10am on Friday.

News.com.au understands the NSW Premier did alert the Morrison government to the looming announcement. However, federal government sources noted NSW “don’t choose how we open up the borders and to whom”.

Hotel quarantine is a thing of the past. Picture: William WEST / AFP.

Meanwhile, the NSW premier said the reopening from November 1 will not be extended to unvaccinated returning residents, with unvaccinated arrivals requiring to enter hotel quarantine as normal.

“For those who are fully vaccinated, New South Wales says we welcome home every Australian overseas, we want tourism back, we want people back into work, we want to get our economy moving,” he said.

“There is no reason as to why people right across the world who are fully vaccinated should need to hotel quarantine or home quarantine for two weeks.

“Quarantine is a thing of the past. It will still exist at a much smaller nature for those people who are unvaccinated, so we will have a smaller cap for those unvaccinated returning to Australia … they will have to hotel quarantine. But there is absolutely no reason if you are fully vaccinated, when you are attending Australian or are a tourist, that you should have to hotel quarantine.”

The premier also confirmed a raft of new freedoms will kick in for fully vaccinated NSW residents from Monday, though one key freedom will be delayed.

Mr Perrottet said NSW is likely to hit its 80 per cent double dose vaccine milestone tomorrow, triggering a range of easing restrictions from Monday.

Some of the new freedoms will include having 20 visitors to a home, standing and drinking at the pub, 3000 people at ticketed outdoor events, density limits will be removed for hairdressers and other personal care services and there will be no limit on the number of fully vaccinated guests at weddings and funerals.

He also confirmed that the government had pushed regional travel for Greater Sydney to November 1.

“We have made a decision today – and I know for many it will be unpopular, but as Premier I believe it is the right decision, and that is to defer regional travel from Greater Sydney until November 1,” he said.

“The reason we have made that decision is best on vaccination rates in front of us. If you look at where a percentage of LGAs have reached that 80 per cent double-dose here in Sydney, that is where regional New South Wales will be on November 1.”

He also revealed the 20 person cap on hospitality bookings will be removed from November 1.

The government said they will providing extra financial support to regional businesses by extending welfare payments at 30 per cent payroll until November 1.

— with Ally Foster