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Scott Morrison Says Nearly All Domestic Borders Will Be Opened By Christmas

Scott Morrison Says Nearly All Domestic Borders Will Be Opened By Christmas

Seven out of the eight states and territories have agreed to finally allow people to travel.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Nearly all domestic borders in Australia will be opened up by Christmas.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that seven out of eight states and territories will be easing restrictions on interstate travel in a few weeks.

The only jurisdiction that is withholding for now is Western Australia.

Following a National Cabinet meeting, Mr Morrison said: "We agreed in principle with the reopening framework for Australia by Christmas. By Christmas of this year, certainly seven of the eight states and territories will be open and you never know, it might be eight."

Mr Morrison said WA's refusal to join the agreement was due to economic reasons.

When asked what the plan was for international travel, Mr Morrison said the world was still too dangerous for it to be done safely.

"I think what is important is what we are signalling to the community...We are already moving forward to try and solve these problems, so we are being proactive about it," he says.

The Prime Minister has welcomed the move for states and territories to rescind some of their restrictions around gatherings and is hopeful Victoria will do more over the coming weeks.

The state has been the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic after an unexpected second wave of infections saw thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths. The state has recorded just one new case in the past 24 hours.

Scott Morrison said: "We're very pleased that those numbers are now where they are and obviously that provides the opportunity to open up again, and I'm sure Victorians and particularly those in Melbourne would like to see that occur and I understand the premier will make some further announcements this weekend. That's a matter for him to do as he regularly has each week.

"And so we're obviously keen to see that opening up or whether been the hospitality sector or other parts of the economy and the shutdown in Melbourne has had, obviously, a terrible impact."

There are just 200 active cases around Australia at the moment, with 19 people in hospital and thankfully no one in intensive case. Chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly says 80 per cent of those cases are from overseas.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Australia