Leaders from the agriculture, tourism and education sectors
are calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders to
deliver a plan to safely reopen our international border, as the costs of
Australia’s isolation continue to multiply.
Agriculture, tourism and education are among the industries
worst hit by Australia’s strict international border closure – struggling amid
an absence of international workers, visitors and students.
National Farmers’ Federation, Chief Executive Tony Mahar,
said it was time for National Cabinet to outline a plan to reopen our doors.
“We’re not saying we need to reopen tomorrow. Public safety
must always come first, but part of ensuring public safety is planning for the
future.
“What we want is clarity over the criteria for reopening the
border that will keep Australians safe and allow businesses to plan ahead.
“The absence of any National Cabinet-endorsed roadmap to
reopen borders is an embarrassment, and it risks eroding the advantage
Australia has earned by successfully managing the pandemic.
“It also sends an adverse signal to our region and the
world that is seeing Australia branded a ‘hermit nation’ by commentators,” Mr
Mahar said.
Questions industry leaders are calling on National Cabinet
to answer in a national roadmap include:
• What
proportion of the Australian population must be vaccinated before
quarantine-free travel can resume?
• How will
Australians be incentivised to meet vaccination targets?
• What
criteria will be used to assess ‘border bubble’ arrangements with overseas
countries?
• What are the
processes and timeframes for fielding, assessing and funding proposals for new
purpose-built quarantine facilities?
Group of Eight Chief Executive, Vicki Thomson said
Australia’s reputation as a leading destination for education and research was
hanging in the balance as universities and international students awaited
policy certainty.
“We know that for every three international students
studying at a Go8 university, $1 million is injected into the Australian
economy,” Ms Thomson said.
“Currently, we have about 30,000 Go8 students studying
offshore. These students have stuck by our leading research-intensive
universities during the pandemic and they have done that with the expectation
that they can eventually be back in Australia to resume their studies on
campus.
“However, this ongoing commitment will be hard to
maintain unless we can clearly communicate that we have a plan to safely reopen
our borders.”
Tourism and Transport Forum CEO, Margy Osmond said Australia
risked being left behind as the world reopened.
“We could become one of the only major countries in the
world without a comprehensive and well understood timeframe and targets for
reopening,” Ms Osmond said.
“The lack of international tourism is setting our sector
back about $4 billion per month, and we can’t expect domestic travellers to
fill this void – particularly when we’re still facing uncertainty around state
borders.
“It’s time to get our head out of the sand and look beyond
the vaccine rollout.”
Tony Mahar said without better solutions at the border,
farmers faced another harvest without the workers needed to pick and pack the
produce Australians and the economy relied on.
“It’s time we got serious about solutions – and that starts with a clear plan for what our international border looks like over the next 24 months.”
