Coronavirus: Country can’t shut itself off, says national cabinet

Australia’s COVID-19 suppression strategy has been re­affirmed by the national cabinet to avoid ‘recklessly shutting the country off from the rest of the world.

Scott Morrison in Canberra on Friday. Picture: Getty Images

Australia’s COVID-19 suppression strategy has been re­affirmed by the national cabinet to avoid “recklessly” shutting the country off from the rest of the world, as federal, state and territory leaders backed the fast-tracking of major infrastructure projects to support 66,000 jobs.

A new freight code to support the movement of trucks between state borders, changes to environmental approvals and Scott Morrison’s JobTrainer plan were also endorsed at Friday’s national cabinet meeting.

The Prime Minister said the suppression strategy was aimed at neutralising and ensuring against community transmission in the face of new waves of COVID-19 infections in Victoria and NSW.

“The goal of that is, and has ­always been, no community transmission,” he said. “There will ­always be cases that come because Australia has not completely shut itself off from the world. To do so would be reckless.”

Speaking at the National Press Club on Friday, Josh Frydenberg said: “We have been clear from the outset that we are following a suppression strategy, not an elimination strategy.

“A strict elimination strategy would cripple our economy and require us to shut down many more sectors and not allow anyone to enter the country,” the Treasurer said. “Treasury, using OECD estimates of the economic impact of full lockdowns, suggests that a six-week Australia-wide hard lockdown could ­reduce GDP by around $50bn.”

Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said that to support a suppression strategy the national cabinet had decided to facilitate better sharing of data between jurisdictions.

Mr Morrison, who spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night about how they were reopening their economies while confronting outbreaks, said: “Our goal is to create jobs and reduce the effective rate of unemployment.”

State and territory leaders, who received an economic update from Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy, unanimously backed Mr Morrison’s overhaul of the ­Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act.

“It was … agreed amongst all the states and territories to move to a single-touch process under the EPBC Act and that we would now be moving to deal directly for interim standards with some model jurisdictions and forming bilateral agreements with all states and territories to action that agreement,” he said.

Mr Morrison also won backing from the states and territories to bring forward 15 major projects, including the Inland Rail between Melbourne and Brisbane, the Olympic Dam ­extension in South Australia and the Marinus Link between Tasmania and Victoria, which he said would support 66,000 jobs and create $72bn in economic activity.

The national cabinet also supported an enforceable freight movement code, putting in place protocols for drivers.

Deputy Prime Minister ­Michael McCormack said it was critical to keep freight operators moving to ensure shop shelves ­remained stocked. “They should not have to put their lives at risk, nor those of their families and friends, as they continue to work,” he said.