State border closures illegal under the highest law in the country?

[bigbadbyrnes]

Everything is arguable in law, doubly so in constitutional law. This is a matter for the high court.

But here's my opening argument;

Section 92 of the highest law in the country sets out "On the imposition of uniform duties of customs, trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States, whether by means of internal carriage or ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free. "

Per Cole vs Whitfield 1988 "The notions of absolutely free trade and commerce and absolutely free intercourse are quite distinct". Sec92 clearly sets out the law for interstate trade, but also 'intercourse'.

And on the matter of what intercourse means, per Gratwick v Johnson 1945 it's the ability "to pass to and fro among the States without burden, hindrance or restriction".

Border closures, (and arguably although less certainly isolation requirements), are therefore inconsistent with the highest law in the country and should be set aside.

No one is talking about it, any legal eagles here explain? There's no room on the news for this at the moment, but if people start to fed up with the restrictions, it's worth getting them tested in the high court.

edit:

I think this analysis will answer all your questions: States are shutting their borders to stop coronavirus. Is that actually allowed?

Short version: if there are good public health grounds (for example states of emergency), those laws are likely to be held valid.

Could be worth testing if an individual could be proven to be not a thread to public health, but that would be the exception. Thanks MEL_Traveller for sharing the article.

/thread

 

[antycbr]

Watching the news tonight it is claimed risk management in aged care has not improved since the second wave in Victoria. Residents have been described as 'sitting ducks'.

I know many on AFF have advocated border opening, with appropriate protections for the vulnerable. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like this is happening.

Borders are opening already - NT and SA, and Tasmania scheduled to happen at the end of the month to a number of states too.
So your point is moot.
Lines drawn on a map in the 19th century colonial office won’t protect people in 21st century nursing homes - let’s fix the actual problem shall we?

 

[jakeseven7]

Sorry but this is just BS.Compare the reports coming out of QLD with my now considerable experience of Tasmania's compassionate exemptions which are indeed compassionate.
This week 2 fellows from Melbourne have got exemptions to visit.One is in the home of his mother to look after his dying mother.The other is his son who has to be in hotel quarantine but allowed supervised visits to his grandmother.This was because his father and uncle are loooking after their mother in her home.

So Premier and Dr.Young your exemptions fail the test of compassion.

What is mind boggling is that QLD are STILL making these horrific decisions.

To stop all of Dr Young’s giant mistakes just a few weeks ago, they put in 5 Dr’s under her - whose sole purpose is just to manage border exemption claims. Just a few hundred thousand more taxpayers dollars I’m sure.

But very clearly Dr Young still owns the process as the decisions seem to be eerily similar to when she was doing it herself with her well known ‘computer says no’ method...

 

[jakeseven7]

Even if a vaccine arrives, NSW is unlikely to meet the target.

----
NSW-Queensland border battle over 48-hour deadline no closer to being resolved


The argument over the NSW-Queensland border and a 48-hour deadline imposed on health authorities to track down mystery cases is no closer to being resolved.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian maintains she still is unsure where the deadline has come from.

"I still don't know where they got that 48-hour time limit from because as we've seen during the pandemic sometimes it takes health just a few hours to identify a known link or a known source, and sometimes it takes up to days and weeks but I don't have an issue with that," Ms Berejiklian said.

"I still don't know where the Queensland government got that 48-hour deadline from. It was completely new to me.

"I think it demonstrates there's an attitude of wanting to stick to your decision not withstanding whatever else is happening and I think that's the case."

Earlier, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard lashed out at Ms Palaszczuk, slamming her 48-hour deadline.

"This is a silly, it's a cruel position that the premier in Queensland is adopting," Mr Hazzard told Today.

"It's not evidenced based.

"It's just simply, I think, off the back of her election.

"She wants to look tough for Queensland residents, If she keeps this up and we don't have a vaccine, we don't have a treatment this could go on for years."

NSW-Queensland border battle over 48-hour deadline no closer to being resolved

www.9news.com.au

 

[jakeseven7]

Queensland hard border with Greater Sydney like 'killing a flea with a sledgehammer'


Queensland business owners have warned the state’s Premier that if she delays the opening of the border past November, multiple industries will cause irreparable harm to the economy.

On Sunday, Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said the government will review its decision to open its borders to NSW at the end of the month. The state government had previously said it would reopen the border with NSW on November 1 provided there was 28 days with no community transmission of coronavirus.

With NSW recording several days of community cases, when the border between NSW and Queensland will now open is unknown.

Speaking to the Australian Financial Review, tourism business owners have slammed Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s ongoing stance to keep the border closed with NSW, despite the state having very few community transmission cases.

Chris Morris, who has multiple tourism assets including Orpheus Island near Townsville and the Daintree Eco Lodge in Far North Queensland, said the closure was simply political.

“It’s all about the election,” Mr Morris told the Australian Financial Review.

“A lot of Queenslanders have been led to think it’s the only thing that can keep them safe. But it will never be opened up under the rules they have at the moment. I don’t think some of her decisions have been very logical.”

Dr David Beirman, from Sydney’s University of Technology, said the ongoing Queensland border closure was “overkill”.

“Queensland’s totally understandable concern to contain COVID-19 has resulted in measures which actually cause greater harm to the viability of Queensland’s economy, and especially its beleaguered tourism economy, than contributing to any meaningful containment of COVID-19 in the state,” Dr Beirman said.

"The Queensland Premier has once again sought to kill a flea with a sledge hammer and in the process, is inflicting collateral damage on Queensland’s tourism industry which is desperately trying to get back off its knees.”



Sunshine coast locals signal from the ground to the Qantas 'flight to nowhere' passengers, calling on Sydneysiders to visit the decimated tourism region. Queensland border restrictions are due to be lifted November 1.

Business hits out at Qld border 'politics'

Senior business leaders said the Palaszczuk Labor government's prolonged border closure with NSW was causing irreparable harm to the state's economy.

www.afr.com

 

[jakeseven7]

TAS - NSW restrictions to be reviewed on October 19
TAS - VIC restrictions to be reviewed on Dec 1

----
Tasmania confirms it will open borders to all states and territories except Vic, NSW for now

Tasmania will open its border to all Australian states and territories, except Victoria and NSW, on October 26.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said on Tuesday they will continue to monitor the case numbers in NSW over the next week and make another announcement on October 19.

"I'm certainly not ruling out easing restrictions with NSW at this stage, as I've said it's important, as we have done right through this, to sensibly,
responsibly, cautiously consider the best pathway forward," he said.

"We won't put Tasmanians at risk. We have made that commitment right through this, the health, safety and wellbeing of Tasmanians is the first and foremost thought in our mind."

He said that Victoria will remain closed to Tasmania but they will continue to monitor the situation.

The Tasmanian public health team will provide advice in relation to Victoria and other hotspots by December 1.

As it happened: Victoria records 12 new COVID-19 cases as NSW flags easing of restrictions on outdoor venues; Trump tests negative as Australian death toll jumps to 899

Victoria and the rest of Australia continue to battle the impacts of COVID-19.

www.theage.com.au

New South Wales brutally singled out

Tasmania has announced it will reopen its state border to every jurisdiction on October 26, but NSW will have to wait a little longer to find out if it’ll be included in the new bubble.

www.news.com.au

 

[jase05]

QF need to put some flights on from ADL-HBA or LST. I would love to go to Tassie in early November but currently only via SYD or MEL. If TAS open to NSW it will be ok

 

[nutwood]

QF need to put some flights on from ADL-HBA or LST. I would love to go to Tassie in early November but currently only via SYD or MEL. If TAS open to NSW it will be ok

You can go Jetstar ADL-HBA. That's currently my only way out of the State, even though I'm LST based. SA view a MEL transit as visiting Victoria. Crazy!

 

[jakeseven7]

QF need to put some flights on from ADL-HBA or LST. I would love to go to Tassie in early November but currently only via SYD or MEL. If TAS open to NSW it will be ok

QFLink could easily slap on a Q400 to LST-ADL, its probably all the route would support right now I would guess....
Someone should write to them

Post automatically merged: Oct 13, 2020

You can go Jetstar

Wash out your mouth with soap

 

[jase05]

You can go Jetstar ADL-HBA.

I’d rather swim across

If that is our only option I’ll wait until they open the border to NSW or look at visiting another state

 

[straitman]

You can go Jetstar ADL-HBA. That's currently my only way out of the State, even though I'm LST based. SA view a MEL transit as visiting Victoria. Crazy!

I'll stay at home in quarantine rather than fly Jetstar thanks!

 

[Pushka]

I'll stay at home in quarantine rather than fly Jetstar thanks!

Well, we actually enjoyed our Jetstar flight to Cairns in August . I did hear an SA Travel Agent say there were going to be more direct flights to TAS once it opened up to SA.

 

[drron]

I'll stay at home in quarantine rather than fly Jetstar thanks!

Spoken like a true WP.

I didn't mind my JQ flight BNE-LST.Mind you I didn't have any other choice but even when I have a choice mid November I will probably fly it again as it is the only direct flight.

 

[Brissy1]

I'll stay at home in quarantine rather than fly Jetstar thanks!

Jetstar sometimes meets my expectations... I go with very low expectations though. And avoid any communication with staff, it will be upsetting.

 

[straitman]

Spoken like a true WP.

I didn't mind my JQ flight BNE-LST.Mind you I didn't have any other choice but even when I have a choice mid November I will probably fly it again as it is the only direct flight.

I might sound like a WP but am only LTG these days.

 

[nutwood]

I’d rather swim across

If that is our only option I’ll wait until they open the border to NSW or look at visiting another state

To be honest, for me, Jetstar have been very good recently. I've been flying both Qantas and Jetstar, as most routes have little choice and on a blind taste test, Qantas would have appeared to be the LCC. Even with only a few flights a day, they've still run late. They still lost my luggage at Melbourne and took 24 hours to find it. Staff have been professional, but nothing more.
By contrast, Jetstar have been on time or earlier. No luggage issues and the staff have been been really happy. Possibly the absence of LC Pax is such a relief, it overrides every other emotion!

 

[drron]

I have to agree.My JQ flight was no problem.The FAs didn't disappear behind a galley curtain as they used to do.had a good chat with one FA after she handed me my muffin.flight was on time.No problems with luggage so I will be using them again to Tassie as a direct flight is better than 1 or 2 connections.

so after that last statement I will go and wash my mouth out.

 

[jakeseven7]

The simple truth is that they will have to make sure they are prepared once borders start opening because some community transmission is inevitable.

But if Tasmania can do it....

----

WA health chief to be grilled on border rationale, preparedness for outbreaks


Western Australia's chief health officer is set to be questioned on the medical rationale for the state's hard borders when he fronts a parliamentary committee today.

Andy Robertson will face state parliament's Education and Health Standing Committee on Wednesday to give evidence about WA's preparedness for potential future COVID-19 outbreaks. WA's health response has been speculated to be less resourced and ready to manage outbreaks than other states.

The interstate borders have remained closed for more than six months and the state has recorded no detected community spread of COVID-19 during that time.

Polls suggest the border closures have been popular within WA, but that support is declining as case numbers on the eastern coast have dramatically reduced and other state borders open their borders.

WA business groups and West Australians separated from their loved ones are desperate for clarity on when free travel between the states will be allowed.

Dr Robertson has warned that just one community case could spark a large outbreak because WA has largely removed restrictions on physical distancing.

WA's state budget, released last week, was built on the assumption that the state's borders would remain closed until April 1 - after the March election.

But the WA government was forced to quickly clarify and reiterated it is just a Treasury assumption and does not reflect government policy, which is based on health advice under review.

WA premier 'caught out' on border closures

Western Australia's premier has been accused of keeping the borders closed for political gain after the state's chief...

www.canberratimes.com.au

 

[jakeseven7]

NSW Premier says she thinks Qld will have 'different attitude' to border closures after election as locals criticise Annastacia Palaszczuk's 'hyper mode on closing the state'

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has accused Queensland of only keeping the borders closed because there is an election on.

Asked about the border issue at her media conference this morning Ms Berejiklian said she expected things might change substantially after the state election on October 31.

"I suspect the Queensland Government will have a different attitude to a whole range of things on 1 November," she said, adding that she had to govern her state as if the vaccine was "a while away".

"I say to the other states, please look at the balance we're able to have in NSW.

"I can assure you those tourism operators in Queensland will go belly up after summer: It might be OK now ... [but] businesses can't survive successive tourism seasons with no customers."

Gladstone local Gary Bradshaw, 60, has also not been impressed with the tone of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk during the COVID-19 response.

He has not decided which way he will vote on October 31. While he likes his local Labor MP Glenn Butcher, he does not agree with the actions of the Queensland Labor Party as a whole.

"I didn’t like the way she [Ms Palaszczuk] was condescending to the other states when talking about 'Queensland has this' [during the pandemic], that’s great, but don’t go rubbing it in the faces of the other states," he says.

"I just think they went about it the wrong way with the borders … Queensland goes into 'hyper mode' and closes the state".

POLL CALL: Labor, LNP argue over economy as battle for regions rages

The LNP will be hoping for a smoother ride today after a bruising day on Tuesday, with the LNP and Labor both heading back to the regions on day nine of the campaign.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

 

[blackcat20]

Dr Robertson has warned that just one community case could spark a large outbreak because WA has largely removed restrictions on physical distancing.

This is exactly the problem with these closed states, people there are too complacent. They need to be carrying out in a covid safe manner in order to open safely.

 

[VPS]

This is exactly the problem with these closed states, people there are too complacent. They need to be carrying out in a covid safe manner in order to open safely.

I know SA has been very lucky but last Sunday I was out to lunch at a beachside cafe and you could barely squeeze through the chairs to get to your table so almost zilch social distancing. When you went up to order they had the signs on the floor to keep apart which is just stupid when you have someone sitting on a chair less than 30 cm from you