South Wales (NSW) border city of Albury check cars crossing the
state border from Victoria on July 8, 2020 after authorities closed
the border due to an outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus in Victoria.
William WEST / AFP.
A torrid row over Australia’s state border closures
has pushed the country’s prime minister to tears, sparked bitter
recriminations among rival regional leaders and even talk of
secession.
Travel between the nation’s independent-minded states and
territories has been mostly banned since COVID-19 hit Australia in
March.
But an unhappy federal government is ratcheting pressure on
premiers to open up, sending the argument into overdrive.
Campaigning media coverage has highlighted the plight of
grieving families separated by the closures and targeted state
officials they deem responsible.
One family facing a huge quarantine bill to see their dying
father received over Aus$200,000 ($US148,000) in donations when
their ordeal became public.
The family of Mark Keans, who has terminal cancer, had
previously been told only one of his four children would be able to
enter Queensland to see him.
The state currently blocks almost all arrivals from New South
Wales — which it considers a Covid-19 hotspot.
“How do you choose which child gets that chance to see their dad
for the last time?” Keans’ sister Tamara Langborne told national
broadcaster ABC.
Such is the level of anger that Queensland’s chief medical
officer has been forced to seek police protection after threats on
her life.
– Commonwealth rivalry –
Australia began life as six self-governing British states and
territories that agreed to form a federation around 1900.
Rivalry between those regions had persisted — usually on the
sports field and in lighthearted jokes — but coronavirus has made
regional sentiment more pronounced, and more popular.
Many premiers advocating state lockdowns have seen their public
approval ratings rocket.
West Australia’s centre-left premier Mark McGowan was cheered on
as he pilloried the “Pinot grigio-sipping” commentariat in Sydney —
near where he was born — for telling him to open up.
West Australia, he insisted, will remain “an island within an
island.”
An approving local paper declared its own “Westralia Day” and
#WAexit has trended on social media, a West Australian echo of
Britain’s rancorous exit of the European Union.
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Labor member of parliament Patrick Gorman, writing in The
Australian on Friday, warned such talk cannot be dismissed
lightly.
“The dangerous idea of secession has been reignited in Perth and
across our state,” he said. “Those on the east coast of Australia
greatly underestimate the damage this might do to the
federation.”
Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison has even expressed
concern that “at times” over the past months “it has felt like
Australia could break apart.”
Although he had long sought to appear above the fray, even as
party attack dogs were set on those who support restrictions, he
has now joined the fight.
In a recent radio interview, Morrison said he had personally
pleaded with the centre-left Queensland premier to allow Sarah
Caisip to attend her father’s funeral after travelling from
Canberra.
“I’ve appealed to her to overrule the decision that would allow
Sarah to go to the funeral,” he told 2GB tearfully.
“It’s not about borders, it’s not about federation, it’s not
about politicians, it’s not about elections.”
Morrison’s critics say that is exactly what the row is
about.
Many of the border rows are fought down political lines, with
Morrison’s ruling conservative national government routinely
targeting states with opposition Labor party leaders.
Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, happens to be in
the thick of a hard-fought re-election campaign against Morrison’s
conservative coalition candidate.
She has since responded, acknowledging “heartbreaking” cases,
but insisting she will not be bullied or intimidated over policies
designed to keep Queenslanders safe.
Western Australian Premier McGowan suggested Queensland’s leader
was being singled out ahead of a state election in October.
“Tasmania and South Australia have borders — I don’t see them
being attacked,” McGowan said of the Liberal-run states.
“I just urge everyone, at a national level, to pull back on
partisan attacks,” he said.
al-arb/rbu
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