Big question Gladys wants answered

Millions of people currently trapped in a prolonged lockdown are being promised new freedoms when Covid-19 vaccination rates hit 70 per cent, with additional benefits when the milestone reaches 80 per cent.

Few concrete details have been released about what that plan to gradually reopen looks like, as well as the notion of perks for the vaccinated.

But Ms Berejiklian on Wednesday indicated she wants interstate travel to be on the table.

“We all signed up to the national plan,” she said of the undertaking made by states and territories to ease restrictions and move away from snap lockdowns as more and more Australians are vaccinated.

“And every state in Australia, sooner or later, is going to have to live with Delta and that’s why I’m calling on all my colleagues, all other state premiers and first ministers, to stick to our plan.”

Every state and territory must accept that they “cannot live in a bubble forever”, she said, adding: “Your citizens will want to travel interstate, your businesses would want to go interstate.”

And on that point, Ms Berejiklian has posed a major question to state and territory leaders: “If not at 80 per cent double dose, which is what our national plan says, then when?”

The plan agreed to in principle by the national cabinet is based on modelling by the Doherty Institute and sets out Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s supported vision for living with Covid-19.

And signing up to it means committing to bringing down hard borders between states and territories, Ms Berejiklian said.

“As confronting as this is – and a lot of states haven’t had any major outbreaks during the pandemic – getting to 80 per cent double dose vaccination and opening your borders means Delta will creep in,” she said.

“But if your population is protected and you have covid safety plans in place – a good QR code system, good systems to monitor whether the disease is circulating and (the ability) to take immediate action to take care of outbreaks – that’s how you live with Delta.

“As confronting as that is, that’s the reality. I hope every premier who has signed up to the plan will stick to the plan.”

Renegade jurisdictions like Western Australia have indicated their preference to remain closed to states with high numbers of active cases, regardless of vaccination rates.

Premier Mark McGowan has previously indicated he could comfortably keep the hard border with NSW indefinitely.

Queensland’s stance is similarly hard-line, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk sticking with an elimination strategy.

Hard borders have crippled the domestic tourism sector over the course of the pandemic, with lost revenue from cancelled and postponed holidays driving operators to the brink.

Other crucial sectors, like freight and food transport, have faced logistics nightmares from constantly changing border restrictions or rules that are inconsistent across states and territories.

And there have been countless tragic tales of people being blocked from seeing dying loved ones or missing funerals because of hard borders.

A model of life with covid

NSW is rapidly approaching the 70 per cent vaccination rate, leading the country’s effort to rollout covid jabs.

Ms Berejiklian said businesses should begin making plans “dusting off your covid safety plans, making sure your employees are vaccinated” and aiming for a mid-October reopen date.

“That is certainly the date we‘re working towards. Initially it was the end of October, but because everybody is coming forward at the rates we’re seeing people come forward, that could be as early as the middle of October.

“And when we hit the 80 per cent double-dose number, which we anticipate will be in November, NSW looks forward to having our citizens enjoy international travel.

“Also New South Wales looks forward to stepping up and welcoming thousands of Australians home who have been waiting to come home for a long time.”

Mr Morrison wants other states and territories to adopt the same approach as NSW, saying they “can’t stay in the cave forever”.

Reopening will see case numbers increase, he conceded, but high vaccination rates will lower the risk of serious illness, hospitalisation and death.

“We have to move forward. We cannot hold back. Our task between that day and now is to ensure that we ready ourselves for that next phase.

“Cases will not be the issue once we get above 70 per cent. Dealing with serious illness, hospitalisation, ICU capabilities, our ability to respond in those circumstances, that will be our goal and we will live with this virus as we live with other infectious diseases.

“That’s what the national plan is all about, was always about, that’s how we designed it.”