Clarity at last on NT borders, as Gunner finally announces reopening date

CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner has finally delivered a date to reopen our borders, and while many tourism and hospitality businesses would have preferred the borders to reopen immediately – or much earlier than July 17 – at least they now have a date to work towards.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner has finally delivered a date to reopen our borders, which have been closed since late March. Picture: Emma Murray

• Border date set, but Territorians urged not to be complacent

CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner has finally delivered a date to reopen our borders, which have been closed since late March.

On July 17, the Territory’s border walls will come down.

Hopefully, we never have to close them again.

While many tourism and hospitality businesses would have preferred the borders to reopen immediately – or much earlier than July 17 – at least they now have a date to work towards.

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The reopening date rules out the Territory making the most of the interstate school holiday period but for other travellers, July 17 onwards is still a perfect time to enjoy what the NT has to offer.

In the Top End, we will still be experiencing our magical dry season weather, with major events such as the Darwin Cup Carnival and Darwin Supercars now opened up for interstate visitors.

While the opening of the borders won’t be the silver bullet our economy needs, it will save thousands of jobs and provide a much-needed boost to the tourism and hospitality sectors that have suffered so much.

In the meantime, Territorians have the Territory to themselves for the next four weeks and there’s never been a better time to get out and explore our own backyard with the three-week school holidays starting at the end of next week.

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Over the next month, Tourism NT needs to mount a massive campaign to get the rest of Australia to visit the Territory post-July 17.

We need every dollar we can get.