Prime Minister Scott Morrison has played down tensions with the West Australian premier on easing coronavirus restrictions amid sniping over the national roadmap.
The prime minister has declared Australia “has to move forward” and open up when 70 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.
But WA premier Mark McGowan has adopted a more cautious approach, stressing that the national plan includes scope for highly-targeted lockdowns even at 80 per cent vaccination.
Mr Morrison on Monday acknowledged such lockdowns were “not impossible” while insisting he had a solid working relationship with the highly popular Labor premier.
“The bit I recognise about Western Australia … is the situation in the west is very different to what’s occurring in the east,” he told Perth radio 6PR.
“Western Australia’s done very, very well. But at some point in time, we all have to rejoin the world.
“And I know Western Australians … want to welcome people back into their state and they want to go and see their family.
“And for that to happen, then we need to be able to manage living with the virus rather than squirrelling away from it.”
WA looms as a key battleground in the next federal election, due by May next year, with Labor likely to lean upon Mr McGowan’s popularity to help their cause.
The state’s tourism industry has called for a “no jab, no fly” coronavirus vaccination policy for all interstate arrivals to be implemented from December, which it says would help businesses move towards a new “COVID-norm”.
Mr McGowan has described it as premature given the situation in NSW, which on Monday recorded its third consecutive day of 800-plus new local cases.
“The thing about it is even if you’re vaccinated, you can transmit,” Mr McGowan told reporters.
“The real issue in Australia at the moment is what’s happening in NSW … rather than hypotheticals about what might happen in December or January or some point like that.”
From Thursday, West Australians in NSW will be denied entry on compassionate grounds under new “extreme risk” border restrictions.
Entry will be restricted to Commonwealth, state and specialist officials, who will be forced to enter hotel quarantine for 14 days.
Since last week, more than 700 West Australians in NSW have heeded a call to return home and a further 600 are expected in coming days.
AAP
