Businesses live 'in fear' amid constant threat of border closures and lockdowns

Описание: Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says he hopes state premiers don't simply “shut the borders and hide away" when the “inevitable next round” of coronavirus cases sets in because it caused “enormous damage” to the economy.

Australia is almost completely open to interstate travel after Western Australia - which maintained the longest border closure - opened its hard border to Victoria and New South Wales on Tuesday at midnight after being shut for eight months.

Travelers to Western Australia from South Australia are still required to complete 14 days of quarantine upon entering the state, however Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said the mandatory quarantine upon arrival may be lifted on Thursday.

Mr Willox said the easing of hard borders around the nation was "better late than never".

“We’ve already seen enormous damage done and we can have the arguments about whether the shutdowns worked or not or how they worked, but we’re still seeing the economy is just getting on its feet,” Mr Willox said.

“We hope now, this is the big test of the state governments - that seem to be controlling this show - that when we get the inevitable next round of cases… their first reflexive action isn't to shut down the borders and hide away, that they do deal with it in a calm, mature and coordinated way with their colleagues and try to keep their economy going for as long as possible."

He said the recent lockdown of South Australia, prompted by a cluster of 17 cases, has become the "gold standard" where now, as soon as you have a case of COVID, "the chicken little routine goes on and we have to shut down again".

The constant threat of border closure and lockdowns was causing business to live in fear and preventing them from planning for their future, Mr Willox said.

“Businesses live in fear of that, they can't plan with any certainty, they can’t look ahead, they don’t have confidence the borders will remain open," he said.