Legal hurdles prevent NT taking harsher border measures, government says

THE Northern Territory can’t turn Victorians around at the border like Queensland, Tasmania or South Australia have because it is already operating at the ‘limit’ of what it can do legally, the government has argued.

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THE Northern Territory can’t turn Victorians around at the border like Queensland, Tasmania or South Australia have because it is already operating at the “limit” of what it can do legally, the government has argued.

The lack of statehood, according to the NT government, means it is at higher risk of violating the NT Self Government Act while states can push the envelope a bit further.

But constitutional lawyer Dr Ron Levy, of Australian National University, says it’s “highly unlikely” a court would rule on border measures to prevent coronavirus outbreak over the top on balance.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner has defended the NT’s border measures with Victoria. Picture: Che Chorley

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Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia are now turning Victorians around at the border unless they have a valid reason to travel to that state.

The NT’s colleague in lack of statehood, the ACT, has also imposed harsh border controls against Victorians.

Anyone travelling in the ACT from Victoria, bar those from the ACT, will be denied entry unless granted an exemption.

ACT residents returning home will be required to quarantine.

Victorians can still enter the Northern Territory and go into self-isolation until July 17, when new rules will force travellers from that state into hotel quarantine.

The NT Government has come under pressure from ­Aboriginal and medical groups to impose the tough border measures now instead of waiting another week, warning even a single coronavirus superspreader could have catastrophic health impacts on Territorians.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner, when he first imposed border measures in March, said he wanted to “close the borders completely” but could not as “we are at the very limit of what we can legally do here”.

Dr Levy said section 92 of Australia’s constitution is the most relevant in terms of border closure legalities.

The section states that “trade, commerce, and intercourse among the states, whether by means of internal carriage or ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free”.

Intercourse, in this context, means “people crossing the border”.

Dr Levy said in the situation of a legal challenge, the court would need to decide if the same objective could be achieved with less severe border measures.

“In other words, would it be possible to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in the NT by some other means that doesn’t infringe as much on people’s freedom to cross the border,” he said.

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Mr Gunner defended the NT’s border measures with Victoria, saying “hard borders for hot spots means no exemptions”.

“If you’re from a hot spot, you’re going into forced quarantine. Other states are letting people in with excuses, we will not,” he said.