Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says Western Australia is ‘starting to look like North Korea’

Qantas boss Alan Joyce dropped a stunning comparison today, days after Western Australia announced it wouldn’t be dropping its hard border just yet.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has sensationally claimed Western Australia is “starting to look like North Korea” with its hardline border closure.

WA has kept its border shut more than any other state or territory during the pandemic.

Late last month, Premier Mark McGowan announced he would not be opening the border on the promised date of February 5 but would instead reopen sometime in the middle of the year, when the state has given boosters to 80 per cent of its eligible population.

The ongoing hard border has been devastating to many industries but especially tourism and the airline sector.

Speaking on Melbourne’s 3AW radio today, Mr Joyce called for a plan to reopen borders, comparing Mr McGowan’s state to the totalitarian regime of North Korea.

“You can’t even travel around your own country … it’s starting to look like North Korea,” he said.

“We thought we had a date for that border to be opened … but that was stepped back from, it’s disappointed tens of thousands of people that had booked to go to WA.

“I think we should all be a bit outraged by it … we’re supposed to be all Australians.”

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce hit out at the border closures. Picture: Dean Lewins

Mr Joyce said the border closures had heavily impacted the tourism sector and he “didn’t get the logic”.

“It is very confusing here for a lot of people, and it is very hard for a lot of people,” he said.

“We should be getting on and living with Covid like we are in the eastern states today … the fact that we can travel to London but we can’t travel to Perth, I think there’s something fundamentally wrong with the federation if that’s happening.”

Before the pandemic, one of Qantas’ most popular international flights was a direct Perth-London trip and Perth Airport yesterday announced it would be shuttering parts of the complex to reduce operational costs.

Qantas had a popular route between Perth and London. Picture: James D. Morgan/Getty Images

In an interesting development yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the WA Premier had done right by his state, despite months of criticism over his refusal to open the state’s borders.

“The things we were doing before, don’t work the same way under the Omicron virus,” Mr Morrison told Perth’s 6PR radio.

“As a result, you’ve got to reset, and you’ve got to rethink the things you were doing in the eastern states.

“We’ve had to change things over the summer, it’s had significant impacts but Omicron brought that about.

“That’s the big lesson from the eastern states to the west, when it inevitably moves - as the Premier has said - into the Omicron stage, that the lessons from the east coast be applied there and that when the health system he believes is ready to go, I’m sure he’ll take the next step.”

WA Premier Mark McGowan has clashed with other premiers and federal politicians. Picture: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Mr McGowan wasted no time thanking the prime minister for his support, posting his gratitude on Twitter.

I'd like to thank Prime Minister Morrison and Opposition Leader Albanese for their support of WA's border controls, which are designed to reduce the loss of life and jobs in WA, and help minimise the disruption Omicron will cause in our community.

— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) February 3, 2022

Western Australia was due to open to the rest of the country on February 5, meaning international and domestic arrivals would no longer have to quarantine, provided they have been double vaccinated.

But in a late-night press conference last month, Premier Mark McGowan said it would be “reckless and irresponsible” to open the border then, given the number of Omicron cases in the east of the country.

Mr McGowan said he made the decision on the basis that just 25 per cent of WA had received their booster vaccine, and wanted to avoid rising fatalities as is being seen in NSW and Victoria.

So far, of the more than 3900 total Covid deaths across Australia, only nine have been in WA.

This is our WA COVID-19 update for Thursday, 3 February 2022.

For official information on COVID-19 in WA, visit https://t.co/zTYXZCJrTJhttps://t.co/KJhdcE7Jhtpic.twitter.com/JWlFccsErh

— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) February 3, 2022

Western Australia recorded 19 new cases yesterday, with 192 active cases across the state.

The state’s vaccination rate is also on the rise – with 92.5 per cent of West Australians over the age of 12 double vaccinated and 40.4 per cent of people over the age of 16 receiving a third dose.