Scott Morrison to propose COVID-19 travel exemptions to national cabinet

Scott Morrison will propose allowing vaccinated people to travel between states during lockdowns at the next national cabinet meeting.

Scott Morrison’s government says the proposed exemption is not a ‘passport’ but a practical measure where a person would not have to apply for a state entry pass to travel between states impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and outbreaks. Picture: Dan Peled

Scott Morrison will take a draft proposal for travel exemptions, allowing vaccinated people to move between states in the event of COVID-19 lockdowns, to next week’s national cabinet under the next phase of Australia’s opening-up strategy.

Federal and state departments have been working on a vaccine record plan to deal with the movement of vaccinated Australians when border restrictions are suddenly imposed, ensuring people are not left stranded.

WA Premier Mark McGowan. Picture: Colin Murty

Health Minister Greg Hunt now expects to have two million doses of the Pfizer vaccine supplied each week from the start of October.

Amid pushback from state leaders, the Morrison government now says the proposed exemption is not a “passport” but rather a practical measure where a person would not have to apply for a state entry pass to travel between states impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and outbreaks.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino and business leaders last week questioned the timing and effectiveness of an internal vaccination passport.

On Sunday, West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein joined other state leaders in describing a vaccine passport as a premature step.

Mr McGowan, who has adopted the hardest line of all state leaders in imposing COVID-19 restrictions, said he had not discussed the idea with the federal government and suggested the “logistics would be difficult”.

“Setting up the logistics for an interstate passport confirming you’ve been vaccinated, with what vaccines and when will take months, if not years,” he said.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein. Picture: Chris Kidd

“It would take a long time to implement in a fashion that’s ­reliable. A far simpler solution is for everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Mr Gutwein also criticised the concept of a vaccine passport and said that “the underlying issue has to be the percentage of your own population that is vaccinated, first and foremost”. “It appears that once vaccinated, you can still carry the disease; you can still be contagious. So before considering whether or not somebody who has been vaccinated in another jurisdiction can enter the state, I’d want to have the comfort of knowing that all of my priority population were vaccinated,” he said. “We have an older and more vulnerable population than any other jurisdiction that we must keep safe.”

Mr McGowan said the idea of an international vaccine passport made sense, with Qantas flagging that anyone getting on an international flight would need to be vaccinated. “In the longer term for international travel, it makes sense. Within Australia, it makes far more sense to all get vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.

Last week, Ms Berejiklian said Australians should be able to move freely around the country irrespective of whether they had been vaccinated. “There is no basis for states closing borders to other states,” Ms Berejiklian said.

The Prime Minister last week said Australia wasn’t at the stage of adopting “internal vaccination passports” and he would work with national cabinet leaders on the next steps. Senior government sources said the vaccine register proposal was about assisting Australians caught out during border shutdowns and was not adding an extra layer of red tape.

Ms Palaszczuk labelled the suggestion “another thought bubble”, but ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he would consider it “if a well-formed proposal comes before national cabinet”.