Gladys Berejiklian wants no-limit domestic travel

Gladys Berejiklian says Australians should be able to move freely around the country, vaccine or no vaccine, putting her at odds with the PM.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says there is no reason for premiers to close their borders to other states amid the debate over how to reopen Australia. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Gladys Berejiklian says Australians should be able to move freely around the country irrespective of whether they have been vaccinated, putting her at odds with Scott Morrison’s plan for those who have had the jab to be exempt from COVID-19 restrictions.

The NSW Premier, who has consistently resisted border closures and sweeping lockdowns during the pandemic, said vaccinations should only be used to reopen the international border.

“There should be no internal borders. There should be free movement within Australia, vaccine or no vaccine,” Ms Berejiklian told The Australian.

“The vaccine is our way of dealing with international borders. There is no basis for states closing borders to other states.”

The warning sets up a new national cabinet stoush, after the Prime Minister suggested domestic vaccination passports could be developed to help entrench free movement in Australia.

He wants the states to exempt fully vaccinated people from local COVID-19 restrictions during outbreaks, which have triggered lockdowns and border closures.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk labelled the idea “another thought bubble” but ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he would consider the passports “if a well-formed proposal comes before national cabinet”.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan, who has imposed the toughest border restrictions, said he would need to see “strong evidence from a health perspective” to consider domestic vaccine passports, suggesting he would maintain a cautious approach to letting in interstate travellers.

With a federal election due by May next year, the Morrison government has adopted a more conservative approach on lifting the international border — not until mid-2022 — and turned its focus to ramping up domestic travel.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government supported free movement across borders but when the states introduced public health orders and local limits, vaccinated Australians should be able to travel unimpeded.

“If you have been vaccinated, then the capacity to move without restriction is improved and enhanced. On the mechanisms (like domestic vaccine passports), we would look at that with the states and territories,” he said.

It comes as a comprehensive new business proposal that has been shared with the Morrison government suggests vaccinated Australians should be able to travel quarantine free to countries with less than 50 COVID cases a day once the most vulnerable were immunised.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s “reopening Australia” plan also demands hotel quarantine be expanded to farm, home and offshore quarantine — such as on ships — and that the Australian Immunisation Register be used to record vaccine recipients so a passport system can be introduced.

Some international airports in Australia would only accept arrivals from medium-risk countries — with 50 to 100 cases a day — to boost the number of seasonal and migrant workers, tour groups, business travellers and returning travellers from more places.

The ACCI’s four-stage plan would only allow vaccinated people to travel quarantine-free to very high-risk countries when most of the adult population had received both their jabs. Unvaccinated travellers returning from these countries would still have to enter quarantine.

“Australia’s reopening to the rest of the world should be a risk-managed, staged process that is interoperable with other national systems,” the ACCI stated.

Additional reporting: Rachel Baxendale, Paul Garvey