Pointless interstate border closures over virus are wreaking havoc

Alan Joyce’s logic was sound: “When you have states with zero cases closing their borders to states with zero cases, there doesn’t seem to be any medical reason or health reason or any logical reason for those to remain closed.” The Qantas chief was speaking after announcing the airline’s $2.7bn loss for the financial year, the second-largest in its 100-year history. Many business leaders concur. Sydney Airport chief Geoff Culbert, who has seen domestic passenger numbers at Australia’s largest airport plunge from 2.2 million in May last year to 62,300 this year, also wants a co-ordinated approach to travel restrictions, with clear guidelines for closing or reopening state borders. The peak business, tourism and hospitality groups are seeking a circuit-breaker from Friday’s national cabinet meeting. “We just need some surety,” Restaurant and Catering chief executive Wes Lambert said: “What is the trigger for one state to open to another? Does it exist? Will it always be zero? Or will it be something else? What’s on the horizon for November or December? We’ve finished the previous road map, we need a new one.”

With almost 6.5 million active COVID-19 cases across the world, and about 30,000 new cases a day, it would be foolish, for medical reasons, to look at reopening Australia’s international borders. The virus remains prevalent among the small number of people arriving from overseas, who spend 14 days in hotel quarantine at their own expense. And even Mr Joyce concedes that at present, “nobody has an issue with the borders to Victoria being closed”. What is not defensible is the ongoing closures of the Queensland, Tasmanian, West Australian and Northern Territory borders for blatantly political reasons. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is making no secret of her intention to use the issue in her campaign for the state’s election on October 31. Such narrow parochialism is not in her state’s interests or those of the nation. Rather than being dictated to by polls, states should be working with the commonwealth to solve the “border conundrum” and prevent the collapse of the tourism industry, as Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway says. In addition to lifting many strictures on travel, the states need to relieve unnecessary hardships being suffered by border communities. For example, as Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott points out, 30 Victorian staff employed at the Mount Gambier Bunnings store in South Australia are unable to drive to work.

When Scott Morrison pulled the commonwealth out of businessman Clive Palmer’s High Court challenge against Western Australia’s border closures earlier this month, the Prime Minister said he had talked to West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and proposed a “pandemic” truce. It was to be based on co-operation between the states and commonwealth government, aimed at avoiding a constitutional fight. Mr Morrison said his government would work with the states on a series of principles governing border closures. They are needed now. If states and territories decline to co-operate, the commonwealth has the option to challenge the validity of border closures in accordance with section 92 of the Constitution, which provides for absolute freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse among the states. Amid the current crisis, however, establishing a clear consensus on borders through national cabinet would be more constructive.

From their parochial bunkers, the inclination of the states and territories to thumb their noses at the rest of the nation is white-anting morale and detrimental to national recovery. As Simon Benson writes, Mr Morrison will personally appeal to state and territory leaders on Friday to break the border deadlock that has sparked new crises over medical emergencies, agriculture and aviation. At a time when the federal government is dealing with increasing appeals from families and businesses for assistance in resolving problems caused by border closures, it is up to state and territory leaders to show some healthy, practical patriotism. The economy has suffered its worst shock since the Depression caused a decade of hardship. If they are allowed to cling to their border closures, the states will only prolong the COVID crisis.