Pressure On WA To Re-open Border Once National Vaccination Target is Reached

Pressure is mounting on Western Australia to open its borders with Prime Minister Scott Morrison leading the charge.

Warning that the DELTA variant is 'stronger' than the state's hard borders, the PM has suggested that the next time a challenge came through the High Courts, they may not be as supportive.

But despite overwhelming pressure from the commonwealth and the Federal government Premier Mark McGowan remains adamant that WA will not be bullied into reopening.

Posting to Facebook, Mr McGowan said he would not remove the state’s border at 70 per cent because "the idea that we would prematurely decide to deliberately import the virus and shut down parts of the mining industry, is complete madness.”

“By knowingly letting the virus in, it would mean we’d have hundreds of people die, have to wind back our local freedoms, introduce restrictions and shut down large parts of our economy,”

“We are not living in caves," he said, "we have some of the freest, most open, exciting communities in the world and we want to keep it that way". 

But the Premier has a battle on his hands as Mr. Morrison earlier in the week told 6PR that WA needed to accept the reintroduction of some restrictions after 70 per cent of its population was vaccinated.

“People think that borders protect people from the COVID, well now I’m sorry, the Delta variant is stronger than borders and the best protection is getting vaccinated,”

- PM Scott Morrison

Meantime, Mr. McGowan remains closed lipped as to whether he will opt the state out of international travel options tipped to resume once Australia hits a vaccination quota of 80 per cent of the adult population. 

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