Coronavirus: Northern Territory tells all visitors: ‘keep out, we don’t want you’

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner has warned that Australians from other states pose as much of a risk as overseas arrivals.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner has warned that Australians from other states pose as much of a coronavirus danger to the Northern Territory as overseas arrivals, as he vowed to “draw a red line” around his jurisdiction to keep non-residents out.

From midnight on Wednesday, anyone crossing the Territory’s borders will have to go into a government quarantine facility for two weeks, regardless of whether they are coming from overseas or not.

Then from midnight on Friday, the same rule will apply, but people will have to fund their own quarantine expenses, which could be as much as $2500.

“If you are starting to think I don’t want you here, you are right,” Mr Gunner said.

“Do not come here. We do not want you here.”

Mr Gunner said he had “now formed the view that the threat the rest of Australia poses to the safety of the Northern Territory is too great”.

“To those who say, ‘just close the borders’ — frankly, it’s what I want to do. If I had the power to do it, I’d do it right now. But we are at the very limit of what we can legally do,” he said.

“We are drawing a red line around the Territory. We are saying to interstaters in the east, south and west, ‘do not cross this line’. If you do, we will take you into forced quarantine; we will keep you there. So make it easier on yourself, make it easier for us, and just don’t come. Right now, we have to look after ourselves.”

About 300 people had crossed the Territory’s borders from interstate in the past 24 hours, and Mr Gunner expected the numbers of interstate arrivals to decrease dramatically once the new quarantine rule came into force.

His government is using about half a dozen hotels in the Top End and 14 across the Territory.

“If you come from Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne — from anywhere — you’ll be directed straight to a hotel that is secured by us and guarded by us,” Mr Gunner said.

“From midnight on Friday … we will not be paying the bill.”

He also urged Territorians to “stay at home if you can” but added that police would be prioritising border control and restrictions on accessing Aboriginal land and would not be enforcing the Prime Minister’s two-person cap on social gatherings.

“There is still no community spread (of coronavirus in the Territory),” he said. “But all that could change in an instant.”

He warned the “1 per cent” who try to break quarantine rules, “they will get punished”.

Mr Gunner emphasised that the Territory was not closed forever. “When all of this is over, please come to the Territory, it’s the greatest place on earth,” he said. “We’d be happy to have you, but not right now.”

The news comes as NT Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro reiterated her Country Liberal Party’s call for payroll tax relief for businesses.

“I know the Labor government is acting to help businesses and families during these tough times, which is commendable and necessary, but until we properly address the biggest costs for businesses, it is likely we will see more and more close,” she said.

“Refunding payroll tax for this financial year will inject immediate cashflow for small and medium businesses. This means people can stay employed, suppliers can be paid and other basic costs covered.”

Nurses and doctors called on the Territory government to shut down “everything that is not essential” to minimise the potential spread of deadly COVID-19.