Australian PM Scott Morrison says one state's Covid-19 plans are 'against the county's interests'. Photo / George Heard
Australian PM Scott Morrison says one state's Covid-19 plans are 'against the county's interests'. Photo / George Heard
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has slammed West Australian Premier Mark McGowan for saying that he would continue with border restrictions and lockdowns even when 80 per cent of the population had been vaccinated.
Speaking to the Today Show on Monday, Morrison lamented that McGowan's plans to pursue a zero Covid policy as "running down the (national Covid-19) plan" and "discouraging people to get vaccinated."
"It has never been the job to get to zero Covid," Morrison said.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan. Photo / Getty Images
Speaking on the ABC, the PM stressed that McGowan's plan "wasn't what was agreed in national cabinet" and that his claims contradicted modelling by the Doherty Institute on when it was safe to phase out lockdowns and restrictions.
"Once you get to 80 per cent vaccination, it is against the county's interests not to open up," he said.
Morrison stressed that the state and federal governments had made a "deal" with the Australian people that restrictions would ease across the country once vaccination rates reached 70-80 per cent.
"That's the deal that all Premiers and Chief Ministers signed up to in making that commitment to their own citizens," he said.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, McGowan said that despite the agreements at National Cabinet, WA intended to follow its own policy plan.
"Our preferred option is zero Covid, obviously, and that's what we'll attempt to do," McGowan said.
When asked if he would maintain a hard border with NSW if the state never achieved zero Covid cases, McGowan said: "We retain that right. Obviously, I'd prefer not to."
"When they get down to zero or minimal spread, then we can look forward to opening the (WA-NSW) border."
Morrison said that the Doherty Institute had made it clear that once the 70 and 80 per cent vaccination targets had been reached, the entire country could start to reopen.
"When you hit 70 per cent – that's when people who are vaccinated would be exempted from various restrictions", Morrison told the ABC.
"That's when you're managing hospitalisation and you start saying goodbye to lockdowns."
"Once you hit those (vaccination) levels, it is neither in our health or economic interests to go down that (zero Covid) path."
