Jacinda Ardern's message to Australia: 'As much as we hate to admit it, we miss each other'. Video / Sunrise
The border that has kept Queensland closed to most of northern NSW has finally been relaxed, with those living in northern NSW now able to travel into the Sunshine state.
From 1am Thursday, NSW residents from 41 postcodes will be allowed to travel north into Queensland. Those coming from Queensland will also have the same luxury heading south to placed like Byron Bay, Ballina, Lismore and Richmond Valley.
But while people from parts of NSW can now venture north, Queensland's new border easing comes with a renewed warning from police.
Barricades were installed along some of Coolangatta's streets to prevent people crossing the Queensland-NSW border. Photo / Matt Roberts; Getty Images
Police Minister Mark Ryan said residents would still need to comply with border-crossing rules that have been in place throughout the pandemic, and that anyone who lies on their border pass or tries to sneak into Queensland will get caught.
Meanwhile, Western Australia's Premier Mark McGowan ditched hotel quarantine rules for Victorians travelling into his state, but he's yet to commit to lifting his hard border completely.
It was a stance reiterated by WA's chief health officer Andy Robertson, who said restrictions should only be lifted when there's no community transmission for 28 days in all of Australia's other states and territories.
But an epidemiology professor from the University of NSW, Dr Mary-Louise McLaws, warns its a benchmark we may never reach.
"I am a very cautious outbreak epidemiologist, and I think that the 28 days is beyond caution," Professor McLaws, who also works as an advisor for the World Health Organisation (WHO), told the ABC.
"It's admirable, but it's looking for total eradication, or close to [it]. And I don't think we can get to that."
A more realistic target, McLaws advised, could be a two-week rolling average in all jurisdictions of fewer than five cases.
WA Health Minister Roger Cook has called the hard border a way for residents in his state to stay safe while returning to work.
"But as the situation begins to emerge in other states where the public health risk comes down, we're in a position to allow greater interaction between Western Australia and other states," he said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who's long sledged her West Australian and Queensland counterparts' hard border stance, said that states with border restrictions "are living in a false sense of security".
"They are welcoming people from other states," Berejiklian said.
"We have said if you want to keep the economy going, get rid of the borders, allow people to move freely, get the tourism industry going and of course, we can look at the opportunities into allowing more people into hospitality venues but we need to make sure we are ready for that."
