News Forum - Australian official suggests borders may re-open by Christmas

[Thaiger]

Its borders have been closed since March 2020, but Australia may be ready to re-open by Christmas, according to its tourism minister. According to a TTR Weekly report, Dan Tehan, minister for trade, tourism, and investments made the suggestion while participating in an online talk organised by the National Press Club of Australia. “I do empathise with the Australians who have been denied the opportunity to travel overseas this year. It’s another reason why everyone should get vaccinated, and we have to stick to the national plan that will see our international border open up – at this rate by […]

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[Rip255]

Sydney, NSW = Yes.

Everywhere else will be significantly later than christmas before any quarantine free travel takes place. 

Labor state governments will see to it. 

[Shane]

Wow I've been waiting for this news to hit. And will get excited when the first travellers leave our shores . But unfortunately for me ill have to wait until next year work commitments. 555

[Jason]

I'm here in Brisbane and the figures quoted are incorrect. Over 50% of the Australian population are now fully vaccinated. We have received either AZ, Pfizer or Moderna. Our problem at the moment has been a lack of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. We produce AZ here and there is no shortage. For the other vaccines we are reliant on other countries to provide. Vaccination rates are climbing rapidly. It's expected, (and will happen) that Australia will reach 80% double vaccinated by early December. The difficulty is the power of states in Australia to direct how things will open up. The Federal Government can't just dictate when the country will open up. 

[Poolie]

'Suggests' 'may' c'mon Aus, get off the fence!

[Artemis080]

2 hours ago, Thaiger said:

I do empathise with the Australians who have been denied the opportunity to travel overseas this year.

No. No he doesn't. He likes that Australians have been forced to vacation domestically. That was until the borders closed intrastate and lockdowns. Now, the uncomfortable position of heading the portfolio with the industry on its knees without even the life support that was other Aussies.

He might have a wish list, but states call the shots and not him or the "Jesus take the wheel" PM. These announcements are just to apply public pressure to the state premiers.

[Andrew Reeve]

A post has been removed that went off topic as it introduced Israel into the conversation regarding Covid-19 and had nothing to do with the title of the thread. All replies to this post were also removed.

Australian official suggests borders may re-open by Christmas

[TV7]

Better one day in freedom, then a lifetime in fear. Open up the world, its time to move on.

[BigHewer]

Things are rather messy in Australia at the moment. I think a lot of Aussies are getting itchy feet and longing for international travel.

The government is cleverly marrying vaccination targets with the dangling carrot of travel resumptions. 

It should be noted that the vaccination figures in Australia always quote the % of the eligible population vaccinated, not the total population. Obviously this makes the figures look a lot better than they really are.

Unfortunately, I doubt very much borders will reopen before Christmas.

[BigHewer]

5 minutes ago, atiger said:

No dummy, its 52% fully vaxxed.

Of the eligible population, not the total population. 

[HiuMak]

14 hours ago, Shane said:

Wow I've been waiting for this news to hit. And will get excited when the first travellers leave our shores . But unfortunately for me ill have to wait until next year work commitments. 555

There is no restriction of travel for work commitment, just have to apply for an approval. Mine took 3 days to get approved. For a vacation, that is a different story.

[Dicko]

9 hours ago, BigHewer said:

Of the eligible population, not the total population. 

For most countries "Eligible" means anyone from 12 years old up - they do not recommend vaccinating anyone under that age. Israel appears to be the only exception and, since July, has giving vaccines to some children between the ages of 5 & 11 but only if they suffer from pre-existing conditions that might make them more vulnerable to Covid.

[BigHewer]

47 minutes ago, Dicko said:

For most countries "Eligible" means anyone from 12 years old up - they do not recommend vaccinating anyone under that age.

Well understood and I agree with you. My point is that insisting on only posting stats on the “fully vaccinated eligible population” paints a misleading picture. Other countries which have already sailed past the “80% of the eligible population” figure are not opening up and neither will Australia before Christmas.

It’s sad and brilliant at the same time. Sad because of the big let down to come and brilliant because the government has convinced 25 million people that 60% = 80%.

[Bob20]

12 minutes ago, BigHewer said:

Well understood and I agree with you. My point is that insisting on only posting stats on the “fully vaccinated eligible population” paints a misleading picture. Other countries which have already sailed past the “80% of the eligible population” figure are not opening up and neither will Australia before Christmas.

It’s sad and brilliant at the same time. Sad because of the big let down to come and brilliant because the government has convinced 25 million people that 60% = 80%.

Well, it's no different from all the other massaged numbers we are presented with. Now, I understand that most outlets just copy government figures. What I don't understand is why a few self-respecting outlets, even foreign, don't do some proper research and publish something less subjective. They do report on all sort of other matters regarding Thailand that aren't reported here. Even openly questioning the validity of numbers might be a step in the right direction...

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

1 hour ago, Bob20 said:

Well, it's no different from all the other massaged numbers we are presented with

…. But the real question is …… Ok Which one of you Aussies wrote a #%^*¥%# Letter to Santa …. or did you get Kevin Wilson to write it for you?