Coronavirus: Gladys Berejiklian modelled border closures

The NSW government spent weeks modelling border closures with a number of interstate jurisdictions to prepare against a spike in COVID-19 cases.

SNSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: Getty Images

The NSW government spent weeks modelling border closures with a number of interstate jurisdictions to prepare against a spike in COVID-19 cases, including outbreaks in regional towns, despite insisting other states should keep their borders open.

While Premier Gladys Berejiklian has publicly insisted since June that it would be “crazy” to prevent NSW residents from travelling to other states, it was revealed on Monday that she and other government officials had modelled border shutdowns with multiple jurisdictions for weeks to protect NSW against COVID-19 transmissions.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Monday that the border with NSW would be closed from Wednesday after 127 fresh infections were recorded in the state over a 24-hour period. His decision followed a telephone hook-up with Ms Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier on Monday morning.

Prior to that phone call NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard took a call with his chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, who formally recommended a border closure take place. At a press conference announcing the decision, Ms Berejiklian said she had discussed “the potential of this occurring for some time” with NSW Police Commissioner Michael Fuller. A source familiar with the matter said police had known for about one week that a border closure was being weighed.

An enormous logistical exercise, Mr Fuller said the operation would require overt and covert surveillance of 55 border crossings between the two states, including four primary roads, several dozen bridges and two waterways. Multiple smaller roads would also be monitored.

“Someone could choose to swim across the river, walk through the bush, there are dirt tracks,” he said. “We’ll be using drones and other aerial surveillance at the same time.”

By Monday afternoon the effort to cobble together this response was still a hasty endeavour. Hundreds of police officers were being sourced from various police commands across the state for dispatch to the southern border. So, too, were spare vehicles, communications equipment, and motel rooms needed to be tracked down to provide accommodation.

Ms Berejiklian would not commit to how long the border would remain closed.

Another race against time concerned the crucial Public Health Orders setting penalties for illegal border crossings, or for those who provide misleading information about their reasons for coming into NSW. As of Monday these had not been drafted or signed by the NSW Health Minister.

Ms Berejiklian said essential workers and others who required exemptions to cross the border would be able to apply for them through the Service NSW website. Mr Fuller has appointed Assistant Commissioner Scott Whyte, a seasoned officer in charge of operations and strategic delivery, to lead the mission.

One official familiar with the matter described the scale of the task as akin to a New Year’s Eve operation, but without the months of preparation usually required.

“New Year’s Eve operations are planned for 12 months and it’s a whole-of-government response,” they said, referring to the movement of about 3000 police officers through Sydney over a single night. “We’re turning this around in 24 to 48 hours.”

Ms Berejiklian is understood to have pushed for the border closure with the Victorian Premier, though it was Mr Andrews who formally announced the decision on Monday.

Mr Hazzard said the decision had not come lightly, but had been some time in the making.