By political correspondent Brett Worthington and reporter Jack Snape
All foreigner travellers will be banned from entering Australia from 9:00pm AEDT tomorrow.
Key points:
- All non-residents will be banned from arriving in Australia from 9:00pm AEDT on Friday
- It replaces earlier travel bans on foreigners coming from China, Iran, Italy and South Korea
- Australians who return from overseas will still need to isolate themselves for a fortnight
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the enhanced border measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
It applies to all non-citizens and non-residents.
Australians will still be able to return from overseas but they will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.
The Government had previously banned foreign nationals from coming to Australia from China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.
New Zealand had already announced plans to close its borders to foreign nationals from midnight tonight.
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Mr Morrison said he had consulted New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about Australia’s new travel ban prior to announcing it.
“The New Zealand arrangement, in the same way as it has in the past, doesn’t apply to Australians living in New Zealand as New Zealand residents,” he said.
“Equally for New Zealanders living in Australia as Australian residents, these are the same rules that apply in both countries.
“We have worked today to align what we’re doing and I appreciate that openness.”
Photo: A new travel ban will come into force from 9:00pm AEDT on Friday. (Reuters: Carlos Osorio)
The Prime Minister said the earlier travel bans had already reduced travel to Australia to one-third of normal levels.
But he said it was crucial to go further in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“About 80 per cent of the cases we have in Australia are either the results of someone who has contracted the virus overseas or someone who has had direct contact with someone who has returned from overseas,” Mr Morrison said.
“So, the overwhelming proportion of [coronavirus] cases in Australia have been imported.
“Measures we have put in place have obviously put an impact on that and this is a further measure now that can be further enhanced.”
The travel ban came after Qantas and Virgin announced major cuts to flights and staff, both domestic and internationally.
Mr Morrison thanked Qantas for working with the Government to maintain flights needed to bring Australians homes.
“Those Australians who are overseas, we have been encouraging them to return to Australia,” he said.
“Those in remote parts of the world, that can prove challenging but for those in other places, it is our intention to ensure we can maintain flights to enable them to come home as soon as possible.”
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Topics: government-and-politics, economic-trends, health, australia
