Coronavirus: Scott Morrison draws line on border closures

National cabinet has demanded a ‘clear medical and scientific definition’ of what constitutes a hotspot.

Scott Morrison in Canberra on Friday. Picture: Gary Ramage

National cabinet has demanded a “clear medical and scientific definition” of what constitutes a hotspot as Scott Morrison pushes back against arbitrary border closures by the states.

While failing to strike a deal for national regulations on border closures, a key demand from business groups, the Prime Minister said the states and territories had agreed for a formal definition of a hotspot to be created by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.

The move would provide transparency on whether border closures are based on health ­advice. “When you have restrictions that are being placed on people’s movement in the country based on what is and what is not a hotspot, there needs to be a clear medical and scientific definition of what that is,” Mr Morrison said.

“These decisions cannot be made on an arbitrary basis. I’m not suggesting they are. I’m just saying … we are going to ask once again ... for us to get a clear definition.”

Mr Morrison said it would be “odd” for states to maintain border closures to regions that fell outside the hotspot category.

“As a process of transparency, letting the sunshine in, if there was a clear definition of what a hotspot is, then it would be odd to operate outside of that. And if people were operating outside of that, then that would be very clear,” he said.

National cabinet also agreed to develop an “agricultural workers code” to allow critical workers to travel across borders.

Mr Morrison welcomed the Palaszczuk government adding more NSW towns to its border zone and easing restrictions for people accessing healthcare when they come back from hotspots.

“Equally, NSW and Victoria have been able to come to agreements assisted by the commonwealth, particularly in relation to the movement of agricultural workers,” Mr Morrison said.

But Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox criticised national cabinet for not reaching an “exit strategy” on border closures, saying it was “simply economically reckless” and that there was “more than just agriculture at stake”.

“The longer this goes on, the more our federation falls apart,” he said. “People are being prevented from attending their workplaces across a range of sectors. The World Health Organisation has made it clear that border closures are ineffective. If premiers insist on closing their borders to meet perceived political ends, for the sake of our economy their ­decisions must have a clear review and end date.”

Declaring NSW was the best example of how a society could function with COVID-19, Mr Morrison said state and territory leaders should not substitute border closures for lax practices on testing, tracing and containment.

“The real strength of our ability to live alongside COVID is testing, tracing and outbreak containment,” he said. “If you want a good demonstration of how you do that well, go to NSW. That is a state that has built its testing, tracing and outbreak capability to deal with shocks to the system and keep its economy open. And I think they have set ... the gold standard on how that works.”

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles on Friday defended his state’s border closure after coming under attack from Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

Mr Dutton said Queensland’s decision was based on politics. “Queenslanders want our borders to be kept safe ... they want their government to continue to take the health advice,” Mr Miles said.