Covid-19: Time to open up for summer

US president-elect Joe Biden, for good reason, is looking to Australia for ideas on how to defeat the COVID-19 health and economic crises in the US. Coming into summer, we are in the fortunate position of recording 13 straight days with no new cases in Victoria, our hardest-hit state. As economic recovery gains momentum, the nation’s leaders, especially the premiers who control many of the practical levers, should not waste the opportunities our hard-won success has created.

Consumer confidence is at a seven- year high. Deferred home-loan payments are restarting, a resurgence in the housing market is expected and the Reserve Bank of Australia notes households have built up a $100bn savings barrier during the pandemic.

It’s time to step up to the next level, however, with a well-managed return to workplaces in areas such as Melbourne’s still-deserted CBD. And it almost beggars belief that important state borders remain closed.

Paul Guerra, chief executive of Victoria’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is right when he says the Andrews government needs to urgently develop a plan for workers to return to their offices. This is especially important in Melbourne’s CBD, where small businesses reliant on foot traffic continue to suffer. At this stage, Premier Daniel Andrews’ explanation that it was a “really big challenge” for the government to “get the balance right” on allowing workers to return is not good enough. He has not even provided a date to allow businesses and workers to plan for.

With no community transmissions of the virus Australia-wide for days, tourism industry leaders see no reason not to reopen borders. Every day that state border restrictions remain in place, Gold Coast tourism operators lose another $10m in revenue for reasons they are struggling to understand, as Robyn Ironside and Rachel Baxendale report on Friday.

While the planned NSW reopening to Victoria on November 23 remains 10 days away, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is not scheduled to make an announcement on Queensland’s borders until a week after that. The incomprehensible delay is costing revenue and jobs.

Australia may be in the fortunate position of a safe, effective vaccine being in place in time for winter next year. That is no excuse, however, not to open up safely as soon as possible to alleviate economic hardship. Many people are ready to book holidays, and schools are already preparing to break up for the year. The topic should be front and centre at national cabinet. Northern hemisphere nations would love to be facing the same choices.