Can we talk about border closures for a sec, because there's buckets of bullshit going on and people don't seem to know what happened early on. 1/n
Firstly, the Feds say they have no advice to close borders. That's because the Feds don't get that advice, as it was agreed that border management was purely a state matter at the very beginning of the national cabinet process.
To say the Feds have no medical advice to close borders is like saying the Feds have no advice on the need to prosecute speeding drivers. Of course they don't, it's not their business and it was *agreed* from the start that it wasn't their business.
Secondly, the rest of the states are watching the NSW experiment. If it works, great - open the borders when we know it works. But the majority of the states are not willing to participate in being that particular guinea pig based *on state medical advice*.
Thirdly, Qld, WA and NT are trying to protect vulnerable communities that *correlate to tourism destinations*. Qld also has the added issue of annual grey nomad winter pilgrimages from NSW and Vic, heading to the least medically equipped areas.
SA, WA, TAS and NT will all, easily, effectively eliminate the virus. Qld has 12 active cases and on track for elimination. Vic has outbreaks and 90 odd active cases. NSW has just shy of 400 active cases and a history of bad decisions.
Border closures exist because the rest of the country doesn't trust - primarily - NSW governance capability... let's be honest here. Vic isn't whinging, only NSW. They seemingly want everyone to share the risks of *their* governance standards.
The rest of the country has told NSW to fuck off accordingly and run their own experiment. If it works, great! Open borders. If it fails, we'll be here to help you clean up the *contained* mess.
Unlocking is a process for everyone bar NSW of cautious step by step. One thing at a time, see if it works, move to the next if it does. NSW is taking a different approach. Good for them, but everyone else's medical advice says otherwise, which is why we are now where we are now
