Australian state border restrictions

[PineappleSkip]

Just walked through the new Queensland form. I did a doubletake when I got to this question. A requirement for three more tests on top of the "72 hours before arrival in Qld" test...

Do you agree to comply with the home quarantine requirements set out in Schedule 2 Part D of the Borders Restrictions Direction (this includes undertaking COVID-19 PCR tests on Day 1, 5 and 12 and using the Home Compliance Check-In Service for the quarantine period)?

Looks like I would want that rental car to go to all those tests. Supposed to go to a drive through centre, and I'm 45k away from the nearest one.

I might add that the Qld Border Restrictions Direction (No 54!) is now 22,000 words long. It will take me 14 days to figure it all out.

Cheers skip

 

[RooFlyer]

Health orders dont require the declaration of a state of emmergency in NSW. The Premier didnt need to seek extra powers unlike in other states.

How did that work out?

 

[Must...Fly!]

How did that work out?

the emergency declarations in Victoria worked a right treat

Funnily enough, success isn't measured in the power given to politicians.

 

[drron]

Just walked through the new Queensland form. I did a doubletake when I got to this question. A requirement for three more tests on top of the "72 hours before arrival in Qld" test...

Looks like I would want that rental car to go to all those tests. Supposed to go to a drive through centre, and I'm 45k away from the nearest one.

I might add that the Qld Border Restrictions Direction (No 54!) is now 22,000 words long. It will take me 14 days to figure it all out.

Cheers skip

Why would you worry about the tests in QLD.They let you leave HQ and catch a plane interstate without waiting for the PCR test result.
I wonder if they will do any better when they have their own prison camp.

 

[jakeseven7]

And this, my good friends, is the key: people will do whatever is simplest. Unless there is a police escort to every personal vehicle, people will walk out of the airport and do whatever they want: hop in a cab to get home, hop in a car with family, get picked up by a mate...

Have these people making up the convoluted rules actually watched the news any time in the past year and seen the many and varied ways ‘the public’ tried to get around their rules?

Once outside the airport every traveler will have ‘just arrived from CNS/TSV/insert intrastate departure point of choice here’...and be on their merry way. Some might even do the home quarantine process as agreed!

I bet there a lot of cafes, shops and pubs ‘10 minutes’ gentle jogging distance from people’s homes as well

Personally, I can run pretty fast

Blind Freddy can see where this is going to end up.

 

[nutwood]

All these stupid requirements are the reason why we should have had a good quality marketing campaign running for the last six months, or more.
It's very hard to force people to do things they don't want to or don't agree with. Much easier to educate and encourage so the vast majority are on side. Obviously, there'll be some you never reach but they'll be doing something stupid regardless of the rules anyway.

 

[drron]

There have been some fiddling with the Tasmanian plan on opening on 15/12.

From 15 December 2021, travellers aged 12 years and two months and older, including returning residents, will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (unless exempt) to enter Tasmania without the need to quarantine.

Travellers who have been in high-risk areas in the 14 days before their arrival in Tasmania will also be required to have returned a negative COVID-19 test within the 72 hours before departure for Tasmania (unless exempt). This testing requirement will not apply to travellers who have been out of Tasmania for fewer than seven days.

Proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test (for travellers from high risk areas) may be required to be provided on arrival in Tasmania.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

View COVID-19 information from the Department of Health (Tasmania).

www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au

So now it is 90% of people from 12 years and 2 months up.
Now doesn't say Tasmanians need not have to test if out of the State for 7 days or less but travellers. so I presume I could whip over to Melbourne for a week end and be OK.
Proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test MAY be required from high risk areas.

As to proof of vaccination your Medicare certificate can be uploaded to your Check in Tasmania App on Apple phones from today and Android by the end of the week.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

View COVID-19 information from the Department of Health (Tasmania).

www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au

Plus the check in Tasmania app is compatible with the QLD,NT and ACT systems so can be used in those places and I presume vice versa.

 

[Lynda2475]

How did that work out?

Much better than a state who needed emergency powers. There was never any uncertainty re ability to issue health orders.

Plus the check in Tasmania app is compatible with the QLD,NT and ACT systems so can be used in those places and I presume vice versa.

Despite the fact the apps are built on the same platform, you need to download the local state/territory version to use when in that state/territory. As the Tas app wont have the ACT venues loaded and vice versa.

This also means you need to link your medicare cert to multiple apps if you travel around.

 

[Quickstatus]

all the State Governments have them

Correct...

The Premier didnt need to seek extra powers unlike in other states.

Oh yes she did...

Section 33 of the State Emergency Act gives power to the Premier to declare a State of Emergency
The Health act allows the Minister to make Health Orders without a state of emergency
No need to go to a state of Emergency when the Govt can ram through the Covid19 Emergency Measures Bill in May last year
Most here would remember that was passed that allows Police to immediately enforce Health Orders. The NSW Govt was on the record in saying these this gives the Govt "extraordinary powers". Basically the ability to direct Police without making Health Orders legislation.
Basically a State of Emergency without a calling it a State of Emergency.

Oh yes wide powers are available to the Govt:
See powers available to a Govt under a State of Emergency

And see here : The NSW Law Society put out a statement concerning the Covid Emergency Measures bill. The LS commented that extraordinary powers were enabled by that legislation.

success isn't measured in the power given to politicians.

Unfortunately, it is in their eyes. Any extraordinary Covid19 legislation should be repealed as soon as the pandemic is over.
The NSW version should also have been repealed as soon as 2Jab 80% was reached. I'll bet it stays on the books forever. (Unless there is a sunset clause that I don't know about)

 

[Must...Fly!]

Now doesn't say Tasmanians need not have to test if out of the State for 7 days or less but travellers.

Good, having that rule in place just for Tasmanians was a flagrant breach of the constitution.

 

[Quickstatus]

flagrant breach of the constitution

A bit hard when the High Court made up a new rule to say States can shut borders under certain circumstances - basically saying that S117 must have limits...

Section 117: A subject of the Queen, resident in any State, shall not be subject in any other State to any disability or discrimination which would not be equally applicable to him if he were a subject of the Queen resident in such other State.

 

[nutwood]

Good, having that rule in place just for Tasmanians was a flagrant breach of the constitution.

It was just lazy drafting. There was no particular need to make it just for Tasmanians. In reality, the requirement to have not been out of Tasmania for more than seven days covers the situation. The vast majority of people who would want to travel outside the State for a few days are going to be residents anyway.

 

[justinbrett]

I think some of the border closures that blocked people on state of residency (vs where you'd actually been in the last 14 days) was explicitly against the constitution (section 117). Yet nobody seemed to care.

117 Rights of residents in States

A subject of the Queen, resident in any State, shall not be subject in any other State to any disability or discrimination which would not be equally applicable to him if he were a subject of the Queen resident in such other State.

 

[Lynda2475]

Section 33 of the State Emergency Act gives power to the Premier to declare a State of Emergency

But none was decaled for Covid at any point during the pandemic, the last SOE in NSW was for the bushfires late in 2019

The Health act allows the Minister to make Health Orders without a state of emergency

Exactly and this was done as early as March 2020

Covid19 Emergency Measures Bill in May last year

Had no bearing on the ability to issue health orders themselves only police enforcement there of. There were many Covid Health Orders issued before this bill.

 

[Quickstatus]

no bearing on the ability to issue health orders themselves only police enforcement there of

Funny how you left out the bits about the premier not seeking additional powers...

The Premier didnt need to seek extra powers unlike in other states.

That's the point... and that's why the Covid emergency amendment was rammed through - and subsequently used.
The Premier had existing emergency powers and could have used existing State of Emergency Powers but she didn't . She wanted similar additional emergency powers to use in a non state of emergency and she got it. This expanded the Premiers emergency powers.

So yes Premier had existing emergency powers and Yes she sought extra/additional emergency powers.

AFAIK the legislation has not been repealed

 

[Lynda2475]

had existing emergency powers

You continue to ignore that these were never used wrt Covid

Funny how you left out the bits about the premier not seeking additional powers.

The additional authority was not for the Premier nor the CHO, they were for the Police and were separate to existing SOE powers not additional SOW powers.

 

[Quickstatus]

You continue to ignore that these were never used wrt Covid

If you read back you will see that my comment was to another comment about your comment:

NSW Premiers never had any emergency powers.

Whether you meant Covid related emergency powers or Just "emergency powers" , I don't know but on either reading it was inaccurate.

The additional powers were not for the Premier nor the CHO, they were for the Police

Yes but effectively acting on the direction of the Premier and cabinet via any health order. There was a lot of debate inside cabinet activating the police powers, some didn't want to use it but others wanted it. In the end the police were deployed to SW Sydney to enforce certain aspects of the Health Orders.
As the powers were extraordinary, it required the Premier to say that police would be used to enforce certain aspects of the Health Orders before the police would act.

 

[Must...Fly!]

It was just lazy drafting. There was no particular need to make it just for Tasmanians. In reality, the requirement to have not been out of Tasmania for more than seven days covers the situation. The vast majority of people who would want to travel outside the State for a few days are going to be residents anyway.

It comes down to words and technicalities but the state was clearly and obviously restricting the movement of people based on state of residency and no other factor.

 

[Lynda2475]

Whether you meant Covid related emergency powers or Just "emergency powers" , I don't know but on either reading it was inaccurate.

No it isn't, since the Covid Pandemic was declared the NSW Premieres have not declared a SOE nor enacted any State of Emergency powers.

Yes acting on the direction of the Premier and cabinet via any health order.

Health orders didn't require any legislative change to be issued, they apply to individuals and were already valid. Police called for greater protections to enforce them, if not granted the ability to prosecute an individual for breaching health orders still remained would just clog up the court system.

Whereas other states couldn't even issue a health orders without SOE, before even considering enforcement.

 

[Quickstatus]

NSW Premieres have not declared a SOE

Again its not about whether they did or not.
Its about your statement that NSW premiers never had any emergency powers. Clearly they do.

They could have used it (Victoria did), but instead rammed through legislation giving them defacto emergency powers without having to use SOE powers.

Whatever the reasons given by the police to seek additional powers, those powers could not be used/did not exist/were unclear unless the Govt had the legislative backing to allow them to do so/make those powers explicit. In the end the power for the police to act was on the books for nearly a year before the Govt directed the police to use it in SW Sydney during the Delta outbreak.

clog up the court system.

Covid clogging up the court system?. On on hand not good, on the other hand what relief exists for a citizen to temper the power of State?.
That is why eminent jurists made public comments of concern about more judicial power being handed to the Executive.