Coronavirus Australia: Closed borders, government-paid holidays, workers in the fields: Welcome to the socialist republic of Tasmania

Welcome to the socialist republic of Tasmania. Outsiders shunned, borders strictly patrolled, populace mobilised to bring in the harvest and workers given government-sponsored holidays.

There are not yet heroic images of Peter Gutwein plastered on Hobart street corners, but stay tuned.

Some cheeky public servants have started calling the Liberal Premier and Treasurer “Mussolini”; not simply due to any physical resemblance.

The former publican, handballed the premiership just before the pandemic struck, has since been laudably unafraid to make bold calls.

His hard line approach has gone down well among a pandemic-spooked public, leading to extraordinarily high approval ratings. These, in turn, have further emboldened him.

The first to ban cruise ships and shut borders, Gutwein was likewise quick to impose quarantine and strict lockdowns. When they worked, helping to eliminate the state’s northwest COVID outbreak, he was stubbornly slow to ease restrictions.

Tasmania's’s jobless will be sent into the fields to pick vegetables and grapes. Picture: Alastair Bett

A promised travel bubble with SA, WA and the NT – due to start on August 7 and to be expanded to Qld, NSW and the Act on August 14 – was put on hold after Victoria’s descent into hell.

Now Gutwein is vowing to keep borders shut until at least December 1. Already spending more than any other premier, proportionately, to support and subsidise his economy, he will also pay Tasmanians to take a local holiday, while directing the jobless into the fields to pick veggies and crush grapes.

It’s a utopia most Tasmanians seem content to go along with. So far the beloved leader’s edicts have worked. But there will be a reckoning – for tourism businesses this spring, and for future generations likely to pick up the tab.

Tasmanian’s are being enticed by the government to holiday locally, with places like Orford a popular holiday township. Picture: Tourism Tasmania/ Andrew Wilson