Premier Peter Gutwein doubles down on extended state border closure

There are four main reasons Tasmania’s borders will remain locked the Premier says after a startling new figure emerged about the apparent chances of getting coronavirus cases here.

PREMIER Peter Gutwein has defended the state’s extended border closure and outlined the four main considerations which went into the decision.

At a media conference in Launceston on Saturday afternoon, Mr Gutwein went through the processes and considerations which informed the border closure until December 1.

He said the primary considerations were the impact of people moving across borders into states which had current COVID hot spots, Victoria drawing health resources from around the country, the preparedness of the aged care sector and protecting the business community from the impacts of a second wave.

“I make no apologies for protecting Tasmanians and putting their health and safety first,” he said.

“On the day of the [border closure] extension, I stood in parliament and explained these things.

“We have been open and transparent.

“It was revealed on Friday that a Public Health official had told a political briefing earlier in the week that there was a one in 10 million chance of a case of coronavirus being imported into Tasmania from places that are not virus hot spots.

Mr Gutwein said the figure was part of a response to a question “in relation to essential travellers.”

“You can be fascinated by that number, but there’s no modelling for it,’ he said.

“I would hope people don’t try to twist that into something it’s not.”

Public Health Director Mark Veitch said on Friday social media posts and talkback radio were being used to inform decisions based on perceptions of public fears about the virus, but said further work was being done to quantify it.

The use of social media and radio to help inform public health has drawn widespread criticism, particularly from the business community.

Mr Gutwein said the government took feedback from a range of sources, not limited to social media and talkback radio, but also from Public Health, the State Health Controller and the State Controller.

Labor leader Rebecca White said Tasmania was heading for a massive spike in unemployment as changes to JobKeeper came into effect on September 28 and she urged the government to “govern for all Tasmanians”.

“There are some members in our community who feel very comfortable at the moment with the arrangements we have in place. There are others who are watching their livelihoods slip away before their very eyes,” Ms White said.

“The government has a responsibility to govern for all Tasmanians and to provide leadership and to demonstrate they are making decisions based on the best evidence and in the best interests of all Tasmanians.”