Following an ongoing debate around when states and territories will open their borders to allow interstate travel around Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given leaders a simple message.
“If someone can’t come to your state from Sydney, then someone can’t come to your state from Singapore,” he said.
The National Cabinet meeting – which was held on Friday in Canberra – outlined a number of issues including further easing of outdoor restrictions and the reopening of sporting events.
Speaking to the restrictions around international students, Mr Morrison said states and territories will be working closely with respective students to be able to come to Australia – but that process was still a way off.`
“We have received some very … well thought through proposals from states as to how this can be done,” he said.
“I would like to make one thing very clear to the states and territories today. If you cannot come to your state from Sydney then no-one is coming to your state from Singapore. So if you want borders open for international students then you need to open borders for Australians.”
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At a press conference on Friday, Queensland Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles gave a pretty big hint on the exact date the state would reopen.
“We’ve said very consistently from when we released the road map that we would review the borders at the end of June and that, if it was safe to do so, we would relax those restrictions on July 10,” he told reports.
“Nothing has changed about that.”
The date was laid down after Prime Minister Scott Morrison accused Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of ignoring an earlier agreement to open to interstate travel in July.
“We need to get planes flying around Australia,” Mr Morrison told parliament earlier this week.
“If you want to see planes flying around Australia, we need to open up these domestic borders.”
On Thursday, Ms Palaszczuk hit back at the Prime Minister and argued she was simply sticking by the road map outlined by the Morrison Government.
“There is no descent on this … he [Scott Morrison] has said July. I have said July,” the Premier told reporters.
“I will always put the health of Queenslanders first and I make no apology for putting the health of Queenslanders first.”
