The country will instead prioritize the return of skilled
migrants and students after it hits Prime Minister Scott Morrison's benchmark
for reopening its external borders: the full vaccination of 80% of the
population aged 16 and older. It is expected to reach that point Tuesday.
The news comes just days after Morrison announced plans to
allow vaccinated citizens and permanent residents to fly overseas from November
for the first time since March 2020.
The severe travel restrictions, which have trapped most
Australians at home and kept most foreigners out, have led to the lowest level
of immigration since World War II. Australian universities, which rely heavily
on fees paid by international students, have been particularly hard hit, and
many fear students will go elsewhere if they are not allowed in soon.
While many countries imposed strict lockdowns that shut down
large portions of the economies, Australia's travel restrictions have kept life
fairly normal for much of the pandemic — though it is now experiencing
shutdowns in the biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as the capital
Canberra.
The rules imposed a high emotional burden in a country where
half the population was born overseas or has at least one immigrant parent.
Families were separated, and some grandparents have been barred from meeting
grandchildren in Australia who are now approaching 2 years old.
After lifting restrictions on Australians, Morrison said the
next priority would be skilled migrants and international students — before
tourists. He did not specify when those groups would be allowed in.
“We will get to international visitors as well, I believe
next year,” Morrison said.
The Australian Tourism Export Council, which represents a
sector that made 45 billion Australian dollars ($33 billion) a year from
international tourists before the pandemic, wants international visitors to
return by March.
Australian tourism operators — which have suffered not only
from the ban on international tourism but also frequent internal pandemic
border restrictions — are frustrated that there aren't more details of how
leisure travel will resume.
“International tourist arrivals have to be part of the
plan,” said Daniel Gschwind, chief executive of the Queensland Tourism Industry
Council, Queensland state’s peak advocacy group. “Even if they’re not the first
priority, we’d like to see how this is going to be worked out. There are many
businesses that are just hanging on."
Gschwind that his sector needed to plan for how the COVID-19
risk could be managed, perhaps through rapid testing and self-isolation.
There are a few exceptions to Australia's travel ban — and
tourism has never been accepted as a reason to cross the border. Those who have
been able to enter must spend two weeks in hotel quarantine. That would
represent a major obstacle if it remains even after tourists are allowed.
Morrison said last week that his government would work
toward “complete quarantine-free travel for certain countries, such as New
Zealand, when it is safe to do so.” He did not elaborate on the timing.
Australia and New Zealand briefly shared a quarantine-free
travel bubble when both countries were essentially free of COVID-19
transmission.
But New Zealand reintroduced quarantine after Australian
authorities lost control of an outbreak of the highly-contagious delta variant,
which was brought to Sydney in June by a U.S. air crew.
The delta variant has changed the game in many countries
that previously were able to largely keep the virus at bay with very strict
travel rules, including New Zealand. On Monday, that country's government
acknowledged for the first time that it can no longer completely get rid of the
coronavirus.
Australia is continuing to battle outbreaks, while also
racing to inoculate its population. Its vaccination rollout was initially slow
but has picked up.
Victoria state on Tuesday reported a national record 1,763
new local infections. Australia’s second-most populous state also reported four
COVID-19 deaths.
The previous national record of 1,599 infections in 24 hours
was set by New South Wales when its outbreak peaked on Sept. 10. Hospitalizations
peaked in Australia’s most populous state in mid-September.
New South Wales leads the other states in vaccination rates
and Sydney’s airport is expected to be the first to reopen to vaccinated
travelers. -AP
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