Premier Peter Gutwein to set date for when Tasmanian border restrictions will ease
Premier Peter Gutwein has given a date for Tasmania’s borders to reopen. But there’s one hurdle still in the way that could unravel the plans. FULL DETAILS + TIMELINE >>
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Premier Peter Gutwein has announced that Tasmania’s border restrictions will be eased on July 24.
Speaking this afternoon, he said Tasmanians “should be congratulated on their efforts to date” with the state now not recording a new case of COVID-19 for 41 days.
“We’ve flattened the curve,” Mr Gutwein said.
“Our borders have served as an important safeguard. But it’s important we have a safe and responsible pathway forward to easing restrictions.”
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He said while he knew some Tasmanians “may prefer not to have our borders to open at all”, others have called for the borders to open immediately.
“I simply won’t put Tasmanians’ lives at risk and it’s important we act on public health advice we’re receiving,” Mr Gutwein said.
“There needs to be adequate time between the easing of restrictions today at noon to when we reopen borders.”
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RE-WATCH the Premier’s address below:
He said the government needed to have confidence Tasmanians could safely commute through major gateways like Tullamarine airport, so they would be watching closely what happens in Victoria with the rate of community transmission of the virus.
“With that in mind, following comprehensive public health assessments, it will be four weeks before we ease border restrictions,” Mr Gutwein said.
The date that he has set four weeks from now to open borders is Friday, July 24.
However Mr Gutwein said if Public Health advice indicates opening borders is not safe, the borders will not open.
“Over the next four weeks we will put into place a plan for safe relaxation of our border restrictions,” he said.
“We will review other states and territories and review Victoria’s status in two weeks … if we were opening up tomorrow, we would not be opening up our borders with Victoria.
“I don’t care who is calling for it, whether it be a lobby group or the Prime Minister, if the Public Health advice is to maintain our restrictions, we will maintain our restrictions.”
Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch said he understood there would be apprehension in the community about the opening of borders, specifically highlighting Victoria’s situation.
“I know there are mixed feelings around the state,” Mr Veitch said.
“Currently the Australian situation — aside from the worrying situation in Victoria — is very good.”
If Victoria’s situation does not improve and Tasmanians are required to travel through Tullamarine Airport, Dr Veitch said airports will have measures in place to ensure travellers’ safety.
“The airports have COVID-safe plans, all of the airports in Australia, so if people were going to Tullamarine and transferring on to Sydney for example, I would expect measures would already be in place,” he said.
Dr Veitch said serious increases in cases in states other than Victoria, or the outbreak in Victoria spiralling, would push back Tasmania’s border opening date.
“The decision to recommend the opening of borders as soon as these various measures can be put in place, and as soon as the Victoria circumstance is clear is what led me to recommend to the Commissioner and to the Premier that four weeks is a reasonable time,” he said.
“If there was a substantial change in the coronavirus picture in states other than Victoria, that might give us pause for thought.
“Furthermore, if the situation in Victoria unfortunately deteriorated and became more problematic, that would certainly give us pause for thought.”
EARLIER:
“FORTRESS Tasmania” could be open within weeks, with Premier Peter Gutwein set to name a date today for when border restrictions will lift.
It’s almost three months to the day since Tasmania’s borders slammed shut, effectively lifting the drawbridge over the “moat” surrounding the island state to protect an influx of coronavirus from the mainland.
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Political leaders will wargame at national cabinet today over how to continue safely easing restrictions and reopen the country while localised outbreaks occur.
Modelling shows Tasmania will lose 51 jobs a day and $28 million a week if borders remain closed.
Nationwide, it could cost 702 jobs a day and $588 million a week if interstate borders don’t reopen, analysis by Lucid Economics for the Australian Tourism Industry Council shows.
Mr Gutwein has previously said he would expect to reopen in late July “all things going well”.
“We look forward to the time when our border restrictions can ease and we can welcome visitors back to explore beautiful Tasmania,” he has said.
“Until then, our focus remains on a gradual easing of our broader restrictions to ensure we’re well placed to manage any risk associated with coronavirus.”
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South Australia is forging ahead with plans to fully reopen its borders in July, but may require people from hotspots to still undergo 14 days of quarantine.
The Northern Territory also plans to reopen on July 17, but Western Australia and Queensland have flagged they may hold off longer due to Victoria’s outbreak.
Rings of containment around hot spots, or “red zones”, while the rest of the country reopens, have been part of Australia’s reopening strategy for weeks.
But Prime Minister Scott Morrison softened his public push for borders to reopen yesterday as Victoria recorded another 33 cases.
He urged state leaders to work together and to support Victoria during the “challenging” time.
“We’ve got to just keep the focus on keeping the economy opening and getting people back into jobs,” he said.
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