Covid-19: Hold your nerve, Scott Morrison tells divided leaders

Scott Morrison says state and territory leaders must hold their nerve on the national plan to help people ‘invest, employ and move on’.

Scott Morrison in Canberra on Thursday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Scott Morrison says state and territory leaders must hold their nerve on the national plan to help people “invest, employ and move on”, as new polling revealed ­almost 80 per cent of Australians supported an end to border closures and lockdowns when vaccine targets were achieved.

After the country reached more than 40 per cent fully vaccinated adults on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said the national cabinet’s reopening plan was a deal with Australians to end “the fear of future lockdowns”.

A report released by the Business Council of Australia on Friday, outlining the next steps required to lift Covid-19 restrictions, said inter­national border closures and lockdowns were costing the economy $4.3bn a week.

Pressure from business and industry groups for state leaders to stick with the plan came as the Nat­ional Skills Commission on Thursday said labour market conditions were easing, with one in four NSW employers standing down staff in August.

Mr Morrison said state and territory leaders must “hold your nerve” as millions of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines arrive in coming weeks, ensuring that by mid-October the country would have enough vaccine supply to double-jab all eligible Australians.

With West Australian Premier Mark McGowan saying he would not reopen the state until vaccine thresholds reached between 80 and 90 per cent, potentially delaying the lifting of domestic travel restrictions until April, Mr Morrison said it was time for the country to “live with the virus”.

“The next stage will be hard. We’re about to see that in NSW and Victoria. As they ease up, both states know hospitals will come under pressure, we’ll see case numbers rise, and that will be challenging,” he said.

“If you want to live with the virus, you inevitably have to pass down that tunnel.

“My advice to WA is get vaccinated and get ready – get your hospital system ready, get your health system ready and push through, and we can all reconnect and be one again.”

The BCA – representing the nat­ion’s largest employers – said before achieving the 70 and 80 per cent vaccine targets, governments needed to adopt the UK model of rapid antigen tests in workplaces and homes and prepare health systems for capacity surges during outbreaks. It released polling showing strong support – ranging from 71 and 77 per cent – for opening state borders and phasing out lockdowns when vaccine thresholds were met.

 

As the nation moves out of the suppression phase to stage two of the plan, the BCA said home quarantine should be introduced, ­arrangements put in place for the return of international students and skilled workers and digital proof of vaccination systems prepared to allow fully vaccinated Australians greater freedoms.

BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott called on states and territories to follow NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s lead in releasing freedom road maps to “put the nation first and start planning to rejoin the rest of the world … We can either move forward as one nation or risk standing still as a collection of divided states.

“Based on the national plan and informed by expert Doherty ­Institute-led modelling, this is a plan to end the friction that makes it too difficult to plan and do business,” Ms Westacott said.

“This isn’t just about the staggering economic cost of lockdowns, it’s about letting Aus­tralians see their loved ones again, meet up with friends and just get on with their lives.”

NAB chief executive Ross McEwan said businesses needed “clarity to plan for the future”, including more detail on exempting vaccinated residents when restrictions lift at 80 per cent vaccinated.

“European countries have provided this by implementing a vaccine pass, which gives people freedom to attend restaurants, sporting events, major concerts and domestic travel,” Mr McEwan said.

“Australia needs its own ­national vaccine pass, providing similar freedoms, ready to launch when we reach 80 per cent.

“This should be developed alongside existing plans for an international vaccine passport for Australians to prove their immunisation status overseas and on their return to Australia.”

Ms Westacott said any delays in reopening would be a “risk to our international reputation as a good place to do business, invest, visit and create jobs”.