Mark McGowan says Western Australia could keep borders shut until April 2022

Premier Mark McGowan has warned Western Australia could keep its borders closed until April next year as his state continues to play "catch-up" on the COVID-19 vaccine intake.

Crystal WuDigital Reporter
2 min read
September 9, 2021 - 7:50AM
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has indicated to Sky News hotel quarantine could be scrapped in mid 2022. Speaking to Political Editor Andrew Clennell last month, Mr McGowan said once vaccination rates increase then there could be changes to the state’s quarantine system. “We just need to get more vaccines so we can roll more out. I would expect we get to 80 per cent around the end of this year or perhaps early next year,” he told Sky News Australia. “I would expect that some point in time that if you’re vaccinated, if you’ve come from a low risk country and if you’ve done a test before you arrive, you wouldn’t need to hotel quarantine.”

Premier Mark McGowan remains firm on his words and insists he would not allow interstate travel to or from WA until more than 80 per cent of residents are fully vaccinated from COVID-19.

"Somewhere above 80 per cent we'll try and set the date," he told The Western Australian on Wednesday.

"I don't know whether it'll be February, March or April, I suspect it will be one of those months."

WA could keep it's border closed until April 2022, Mark McGowan says. Picture: Getty Images

Western Australia, along with Queensland are lagging behind the rest of the country with the vaccine rollout.

Only 35.7 per cent of Western Australians aged 16 and over are fully vaccinated and 54.8 per cent have had at least one dose, according to Australian Government's Health data.

So far, 35.8 per cent of eligible Queensland residents have been fully vaccinated, and 54.3 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, in COVID-ridden New South Wales, 42.7 per cent of residents over 16 are fully vaccinated, and more than three quarters (75.6 per cent) have had at least one jab.

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WA playing 'catch-up' with vaccine rollout

The Premier has called for more COVID-19 vaccines supplies in WA, taking a not-so-subtle swipe at NSW, who have been given priority access as the state continued to see more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases a day.

Mr McGowan said, while he had supported NSW receiving extra vaccine supplies, he feels WA is being "punished" for doing the right thing.

"The states which provided that additional support to New South Wales now need to be given out catch-up supplies, in particular of Pfizer," he told reporters on Tuesday.

Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg says Australia should not be held back by the zero coronavirus approach. Premier Mark McGowan said on Sunday he did not want to risk reopening Western Australia to Victoria and New South Wales once it hit 70 per cent vaccinations in the eligible population. “Major cities can’t keep Delta out and so COVID-zero is a dead duck,” Mr Bragg told Sky News Australia. “I don’t think that’s an honest policy for people to hold, I don’t think Australia should be held back by that approach.”

"We can't have a situation where some states are punished for doing the right thing for New South Wales.

"You can't have a situation where you're penalised when you give your doses to New South Wales and you don't get a proper full catch-up."

Mr McGowan said Western Australia has "done our bit" to assist NSW and now it's time to get their share.

"We have provided, in the course of the last couple of months, 260,000 in N95 masks to New South Wales. We have medical teams in western New South Wales working on the outbreak there to vaccinate," he said.

"All our contact traces, 50 or so, work every day contact tracing for New South Wales and we kept all of our industries open, providing all the income the Commonwealth Government pours into New South Wales.

"We’ve done our bit, we’d like our share of Pfizer and now in Western Australia. We want to have a boost in our supply of Pfizer to make up for what we provided to New South Wales willingly.

"It’s incumbent now on the Commonwealth Government to make sure they provide that boost back to States like Western Australia and South Australia and Queensland."

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has warned state leaders to stick to the agreed National Cabinet vaccination targets or risk plunging Australia into its second COVID-induced recession. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Australia’s economy performed above market expectations in the three months to June with the nation’s gross domestic product climbing by 0.7 per cent. “If we don’t stick to the national plan, businesses will close … jobs will be lost,” Mr Frydenberg said. The treasurer’s warnings have done little to persuade Western Australia’s leader, with Premier Mark McGowan appearing to be on a collision course with the federal government by insisting on a COVID-zero policy.
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