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NT the jurisdiction with ‘the most to lose’ if borders remain closed, warns national tourism boss

THE head of Australia’s peak tourism body has called on state and territory leaders to work together to open all interstate travel by mid-July, warning the NT has the most to lose compared to other states if borders don’t open soon

Chief Minister Michael Gunner says he won’t be led by other states when it comes to reopening the NT’s borders. Picture: Che Chorley
Chief Minister Michael Gunner says he won’t be led by other states when it comes to reopening the NT’s borders. Picture: Che Chorley

THE head of Australia’s peak tourism body has called on state and territory leaders to work together to open all interstate travel by mid-July, warning the NT has the most to lose compared to other states if borders don’t open soon.

Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway said Australia should be moving ‘as one’ to reopen internal borders across the country by mid-July, in keeping with what was released in National Cabinet’s ‘Road Map for a COVIDSafe Australia’ in early May.

“With around 20 Australians remaining in hospital with COVID-19 symptoms and an effective trapping of community transmission with almost all parts of Australia now not seeing any COVID-19 symptoms, the time to end the brinkmanship on borders has come,” he said.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said he won’t be led by other states when it comes to reopening the NT’s borders.

“We work together and share information at National Cabinet but the Territory’s borders are for the Territory to decide, and for no one else,” he said.

“I think Territorians have had enough of outsiders telling us what’s good for us.”

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there was no medical expert advice received nationally which recommended borders stay closed.

“I still remain absolutely optimistic that common sense will ultimately prevail on the timetable that National Cabinet has set out,” he said.

Australian Regional Tourism deputy chair Donna Foster is also urgently calling on state and territory leaders to open all borders. Tasmania’s Tourism Industry Council CEO Luke Martin said he was disappointed some leaders had let politics get in the way of setting a date.

“It has been disappointing to see the one-upmanship of some states and territories propagating and debating dates for easing their border restrictions that are completely inconsistent with what our Federal Government has been saying,” he said.

Mr Westaway said compared to the rest of the country, the NT’s tourism industry would be hit the hardest if internal borders stay closed.

“States like SA traditionally experience a little over one in two visitor dollars being spent there by South Australians, in contrast the NT has been overwhelmingly reliant on the domestic, interstate visitor with top-ups by international travellers,” he said.

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Business NSW CEO Stephen Cartwright wants all borders opened immediately.

He said NSW would probably fare better than states and territories like NT and Queensland who depend on tourism from the southern states in the winter.

South Australia’s Tourism Industry Council CEO Shaun de Bruyn said they want to see SA’s borders begin to reopen at the end of the month, starting with the NT, Tasmania and Western Australia.

Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said they wanted to see the interstate borders lifted in July.

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The NT News contacted Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, WA Premier Mark McGowan, SA Premier Steven Marshall and Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein asking when they would open each states borders, but none had replied by late yesterday.

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Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/nt-the-jurisdiction-with-the-most-to-lose-if-borders-remain-closed-warns-national-tourism-boss/news-story/038549e806616051861027138637251b