Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[mviy]

Given the serious pressure on opening up is coming from the traditional conservative leaning media outlets I can’t see restrictions holding out as long as some here predict. Not at the moment obviously but the current lockdown and increased vaccines will get vaccination numbers up and then the pressure will definitely come on.

I’d like to think so, however some of that pressure has been around for a long time and has been ignored by both state and federal governments.

 

[hb13]

This is about spot on.

UK newspaper slams Australia’s covid ‘strollout’

The Financial Times has published an editorial slamming Scott Morrison’s claim that the vaccine rollout “is not a race”, saying Australia’s early wins against covid have been “squandered”.

www.news.com.au

 

[roogirl]

This is about spot on.

UK newspaper slams Australia’s covid ‘strollout’

The Financial Times has published an editorial slamming Scott Morrison’s claim that the vaccine rollout “is not a race”, saying Australia’s early wins against covid have been “squandered”.

www.news.com.au

Yep. Haven’t seen any foreign media who still think Australia is still doing a good job. NYT a couple of weeks ago, the Times in London is being consistently critical (and it’s a murdoch rag!). Barring citizens from free movement for anything longer than a short emergency period is too bitter a pill to swallow for most western democracies.

this did make me laugh though. We should all be so lucky!

 

[openseat]

Time for the PM to try to bring Victoria and NSW along for home quarantine. Given Andrews was open to the idea of the whole population being offered the vaccine (not a specific %age). The AO could be the very leverage in the matter. This would break open Qld soon enough and WA and SA can remain irrelevant.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Time for the PM to try to bring Victoria and NSW along for home quarantine. Given Andrews was open to the idea of the whole population being offered the vaccine (not a specific %age). The AO could be the very leverage in the matter. This would break open Qld soon enough and WA and SA can remain irrelevant.

I don't see the AO as being leverage. The event is important to Australia on the world stage. To lose it would be embarrassing. personally i would support any measures to keep the event, without setting a precedent for the opening of borders more generally.

 

[burmans]

I’d like to think so, however some of that pressure has been around for a long time and has been ignored by both state and federal governments.

Yes, but that was while vaccination rates were at around 10-15% and UK and others were in lockdown. You are underestimating the ability of people's opinions to change as circumstances change. The more people vaccinated, the more people out there complaining as to "why cant I travel when I'm fully vaccinated'. This will only increase from here.

 

[hb13]

If borders are not relaxed by the end of this year for vaccinated Australians (outside of caps, home quarantine for 2-3 days only while PCR test results arrive), I hope the AO gets taken away from Melbourne and Australia.

Continuing the hard border closures for those that are fully vaccinated is no longer following any type of science. In the long run, it is in fact doing a lot more damage because the economy is being battered right now. A worse economy is bad for the country in terms of mental and physical health. I don't understand how Morrison or the Aussie public cannot see this now.

 

[JB expat]

If borders are not relaxed by the end of this year for vaccinated Australians (outside of caps, home quarantine for 2-3 days only while PCR test results arrive), I hope the AO gets taken away from Melbourne and Australia.

Continuing the hard border closures for those that are fully vaccinated is no longer following any type of science. In the long run, it is in fact doing a lot more damage because the economy is being battered right now. A worse economy is bad for the country in terms of mental and physical health. I don't understand how Morrison or the Aussie public cannot see this now.

Agree with this - if they have the AO and don't relax the rules for fully vaccinated Aussies in the manner you suggest ... well, I don't know...but I will be absolutely furious. If they can allow the tennis players and their entourages in, they can certainly allow vaccinated citizens the ability to fly in and out & home quarantine.

 

[I love to travel]

Agree with this - if they have the AO and don't relax the rules for fully vaccinated Aussies in the manner you suggest ... well, I don't know...but I will be absolutely furious. If they can allow the tennis players and their entourages in, they can certainly allow vaccinated citizens the ability to fly in and out & home quarantine.

Read earlier that AO organisers are clear that players won't accept quarantine so likely to lose it on current policy settings.

 

[oznflfan]

Agree with this - if they have the AO and don't relax the rules for fully vaccinated Aussies in the manner you suggest ... well, I don't know...but I will be absolutely furious. If they can allow the tennis players and their entourages in, they can certainly allow vaccinated citizens the ability to fly in and out & home quarantine.

But tennis players are so much more trustworthy....................................

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Agree with this - if they have the AO and don't relax the rules for fully vaccinated Aussies in the manner you suggest ... well, I don't know...but I will be absolutely furious. If they can allow the tennis players and their entourages in, they can certainly allow vaccinated citizens the ability to fly in and out & home quarantine.

IIRC the proposal is that the AO players go into a hub. Security and protocols can be established around that hub... which would logistically seem quite different to having to manage 1000, 2000 or more homes.

 

[JB expat]

IIRC the proposal is that the AO players go into a hub. Security and protocols can be established around that hub... which would logistically seem quite different to having to manage 1000, 2000 or more homes.

It is the optics and the messaging - manage the homes with a bond - they can insist on checking with video calls. I'd give them permission to track my phone. Those of us desperate to see families are willing to sacrifice a lot in terms of privacy etc. just to be allowed to travel without concerns over re-entry or the requirement of HQ. If they can put together a plan for AO players, they can put together a plan for us average people.

 

[hb13]

It is the optics and the messaging - manage the homes with a bond - they can insist on checking with video calls. I'd give them permission to track my phone. Those of us desperate to see families are willing to sacrifice a lot in terms of privacy etc. just to be allowed to travel without concerns over re-entry or the requirement of HQ. If they can put together a plan for AO players, they can put together a plan for us average people.

Completely agree. While some here don't care about the average Aussie seeing their family after two years of not being able to see anyone, I hope the rest of the Aussie population wakes up.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It is the optics and the messaging - manage the homes with a bond - they can insist on checking with video calls. I'd give them permission to track my phone. Those of us desperate to see families are willing to sacrifice a lot in terms of privacy etc. just to be allowed to travel without concerns over re-entry or the requirement of HQ. If they can put together a plan for AO players, they can put together a plan for us average people.

I agree that we need to move to home quarantine. The system needs to be worked out. How to test people across 'x' thousand individual sites, even how to video call that number of people. However, I'm not opposed to special arrangements and extra effort being put in to managing AO. Or the AO happening before home quarantine on a mass scale.

 

[hb13]

I'm not opposed to special arrangements and extra effort being put in to managing AO. Or the AO happening before home quarantine on a mass scale.

So as usual, tennis players need to be treated right, but the welfare and economic health of tens of thousands of stranded Australians - as usual - means nothing you.

 

[louie-m]

So as usual, tennis players need to be treated right, but the welfare and economic health of tens of thousands of stranded Australians - as usual - means nothing you.

To be fair, the economic health of a fair number of Victorians is dependent at least in part on the AO.

 

[hb13]

To be fair, the economic health of a fair number of Victorians is dependent at least in part on the AO.

I don't disagree with that. But the leaders of this country and state are now absolutely taking the p***. Things are dire, yet it seems like they are acting like there is no pandemic or no urgency. And the proof of this is fairly simple:

- There is still no push to get vaccine uptake up to speed. The PM hasn't even called Pfizer - do you understand how ludicrous that is?
- Federal politicians and others still spew things like "this isn't a race between vaccine and the disease" - when it clearly is.
- There is no strategy, whatsoever to get out of this. No plan, no schedule, nothing.
- All the leaders just lockdown or shut borders when cases arise. Nothing else. They just go for the one thing that pretty much kills businesses and has devastating effects on mental health.
- There are more stranded Aussies overseas now than ever, and yet the cap has been halved for international arrivals.
- The rest of the world is acting as if the vaccine works and are accommodating for that to get economies moving - Australia is pretty much the only one that doesn't acknowledge this (along with NZ).

For people to sit there and still advocate for entertainment and sporting events ahead of tens of thousands of Aussies stranded overseas, and even more losing severe amounts of income and revenue in the country is appalling.

We need pressure on the government to fix this. Not act like its just another day of business. If government wants the revenue from these events, sort out the countless issues facing your own residents first.

 

[mviy]

- There is still no push to get vaccine uptake up to speed. The PM hasn't even called Pfizer - do you understand how ludicrous that is?

Supply of Pfizer is still a problem. The PM and team have been dealing with the Pfizer people in Australia.

- There is no strategy, whatsoever to get out of this. No plan, no schedule, nothing.

The PM wants no more lockdowns and for vaccinated people to be able to travel interstate, but the states won't agree to this. The only incentive he can unilaterally provide is international travel, but that would lead to a fight with the states and many of them would likely say to the Feds if you want to take that many you take over quarantine. All the domestic benefits he'd like people to have require agreement from the states. Without everyone on the same page it's difficult to make a public schedule.

- All the leaders just lockdown or shut borders when cases arise. Nothing else. They just go for the one thing that pretty much kills businesses and has devastating effects on mental health.

Indeed

- There are more stranded Aussies overseas now than ever, and yet the cap has been halved for international arrivals.

That is disgraceful and appears to be a concession that was provided to get the states to agree in principle to a "plan" with no targets and no dates.

- The rest of the world is acting as if the vaccine works and are accommodating for that to get economies moving - Australia is pretty much the only one that doesn't acknowledge this (along with NZ).

For people to sit there and still advocate for entertainment and sporting events ahead of tens of thousands of Aussies stranded overseas, and even more losing severe amounts of income and revenue in the country is appalling.

We need pressure on the government to fix this. Not act like its just another day of business. If government wants the revenue from these events, sort out the countless issues facing your own residents first.

I do hope the government fixes it, but the hard reality is that at the moment the polls are suggesting there are more votes in it for going slow on this, than on letting people reunite with family unfortunately. Until that changes international travel appears a long way off, sadly.

 

[roogirl]

I don't disagree with that. But the leaders of this country and state are now absolutely taking the p***. Things are dire, yet it seems like they are acting like there is no pandemic or no urgency. And the proof of this is fairly simple:

- There is still no push to get vaccine uptake up to speed. The PM hasn't even called Pfizer - do you understand how ludicrous that is?
- Federal politicians and others still spew things like "this isn't a race between vaccine and the disease" - when it clearly is.
- There is no strategy, whatsoever to get out of this. No plan, no schedule, nothing.
- All the leaders just lockdown or shut borders when cases arise. Nothing else. They just go for the one thing that pretty much kills businesses and has devastating effects on mental health.
- There are more stranded Aussies overseas now than ever, and yet the cap has been halved for international arrivals.
- The rest of the world is acting as if the vaccine works and are accommodating for that to get economies moving - Australia is pretty much the only one that doesn't acknowledge this (along with NZ).

For people to sit there and still advocate for entertainment and sporting events ahead of tens of thousands of Aussies stranded overseas, and even more losing severe amounts of income and revenue in the country is appalling.

We need pressure on the government to fix this. Not act like its just another day of business. If government wants the revenue from these events, sort out the countless issues facing your own residents first.

It’s ludicrous. And it’s not just international borders. My family are due to meet in qld in a couple of weeks. They have no idea if they’ll be able to do it - people coming from Brisbane, melbourne, WA. That blows my mind.

 

[louie-m]

- There is still no push to get vaccine uptake up to speed. The PM hasn't even called Pfizer - do you understand how ludicrous that is?

I understand your frustration, I really do. I've been separated from my family in the UK since all this started, the same I think as you have been separated from your family.

But we will have to agree to differ on this point. I sincerely hope that if the PM does get in touch with the boss of Pfizer (and I don't think he should), he will be told to get lost. If there are any spare Pfizer vaccines overseas they really should be going to countries that are suffering thousands of deaths a day, not ones that have lost a couple of people this year, no matter how sad that is for their families.

On the other hand, we are swimming with perfectly good vaccines which we have made (and are thus not depriving anyone else by using them) .... we should be using them.