International border to reopen after nearly two years

PM moves to scrap Fortress Australia border ban, but residents of NSW could be flying to London before they can travel to Perth as McGowan digs in.

Scott Morrison in Canberra on Friday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Australia will open to the world next month with Qantas to resume international flights from November 14 after Scott Morrison unveiled a plan to scrap arrival caps for vaccinated travellers and enlist the states to rollout home quarantine nationally.

The Prime Minister on Friday moved to end the nation’s Fortress Australia approach and implement seven days of home quarantine for returning citizens and permanent residents fully inoculated with a vaccine approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Mr Morrison described the end of travel caps as an important step to “return to normal”, and implored state and territory leaders to follow the four-step national reopening plan and help Australians “reclaim the lives they once had”.

“This is what we agreed to do. That we said to Australians – we get to 80 per cent (national vaccination rate), you can leave the country and you can come back again,” he said. “It’s time to give Australians their lives back.”

But the plan could see residents in NSW flying to London before they are able to visit Perth, with West Australian Premier Mark McGowan saying he would not open up to international or interstate arrivals for months to come.

“Many of us look forward to travelling overseas at some point in the future, but this is not something that will apply to WA, or, indeed, other states outside of NSW at this point in time,” Mr McGowan said. “WA will open up internationally at some point in time, it’s probably just a difference of months … we’ll set a date that we would accept people into whatever arrangements the commonwealth proposes.

“And that will be some time in the future … some time next year.”

Mr McGowan said a date would be set once Western Australia hit a vaccination rate between 80 and 90 per cent, and rejected the idea that returning travellers could undertake only one week of hotel quarantine.

Under the new road map unveiled by Mr Morrison, those who are not vaccinated or have received a jab not recognised by Australian authorities will still be required to spend two weeks in a managed quarantine facility such as Howard Springs at their own expense.

NSW and South Australia have home quarantine pilot programs under way, and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday signalled the state was in talks with the commonwealth to conduct its own trial for those returning from London.

“I think part of the discussion today will be the federal government offering us some flights, potentially from London, for us to trial some of those home quarantine systems,” he said. “We’d be up for that absolutely.”

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce on Friday welcomed the shift from hotel to home quarantine, declaring the airline would bring forward the restart of its suspended international flights to November 14. “The early reopening of Australia’s international borders will mean so much to so many people and it’s made possible by the amazing ramp-up of the vaccine rollout,” Mr Joyce said.

Qantas will operate three weekly return flights between Sydney and London and three weekly return flights between Sydney and Los Angeles, with more flights added to meet demand if needed.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Friday refused to say when the state would reopen, with Mr Morrison slapping down her comments suggesting she could only do so if her state received a major cash injection to buttress its hospital system.

“There are two key thresholds here, high rates of vaccination, a plan for our children, get the plans there sorted out,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “Then, secondly, the hospital capacity, which means a big injection of funds from the federal government into the states to make sure the hospitals are able to cope with the growth (in cases) that will happen.”

Mr Morrison said the premiers and chief ministers had months to prepare for the reopening of the international border and his government had “showered ” them with funding.

“How can you go to Bali or Fiji, but you can’t go to Queensland?” Mr Morrison said. “I’m sure there’s plenty of tourism operators in Queensland who will be asking that question. But, when vaccination rates hit 80 per cent in Queensland, well then there’ll be opportunity for Queensland to join an open country.”

Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott also put pressure on premiers to follow the four-stage national reopening plan. “It would be ludicrous to create a situation that sees people free to leave and enter Australia but not move between states,” she said.