Scott Morrison insists his proposal for a digital vaccination passport that could be used for quarantine-free domestic travel is not dead in the water despite strong pushback from two state premiers.
The premiers of NSW and Queensland have both expressed concern about Morrison’s concept, but the prime minister told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday his concept remained live, and he was “looking forward” to discussing it with the state leaders.
Morrison said the vaccine passport was “a reasonable thing to work through” because of the likelihood of more localised lockdowns.
“Where people have been vaccinated, then … they would have the opportunity, let’s say they happen to be in another state, then they can return home to Victoria and not be kept out of their home state, or they may be able to move into other states and territories,” the prime minister said.
“I think that’s something that Australians would support and I think it recognises the reality that states and territories, from time to time, will be making decisions which will restrict movements of Australians across the country.
“Now, I know the New South Wales premier would prefer that there were no restrictions, but she can make decisions in relation to New South Wales, but other premiers, whether it’s here in Victoria, Queensland, WA or other places, I’m sure will continue to exercise judgements they believe to be in the best interests of their states.
“So it’s a practical proposal, and I look forward to discussing it further with the premiers and chief ministers”.
Morrison’s proposal would mean vaccinated Australians could move between jurisdictions without having to comply with quarantine requirements. The government is also in talks with the International Air Transport Association about a new digital certificate that could unlock quarantine-free overseas travel for vaccinated Australians.
But Annastacia Palaszczuk told the ABC on Thursday she didn’t know “how a passport would work around Australia”.
“There’s been no discussion at national cabinet on how it would work, why it would be necessary, so I just think we need to have more of a discussion about that,” the Queensland premier said.
Gladys Berejiklian – who has largely resisted state border closures – argues Australians should be able to move freely around the country irrespective of whether or not they have been vaccinated.
The Berejiklian government has also stepped up the rollout of vaccines, expanding the number of Pfizer vaccination sites. The premier says 25 centres will now take bookings for people aged 40 to 49, including about 17 in rural and regional NSW.
The Morrison government continues to face criticism about its handling of the vaccination rollout. Pressed on Thursday about whether the government needed to step up advertising to counter persistent vaccine hesitancy, Morrison said the communications strategy remained on course.
A number of polls suggest some Australians are worried about the AstraZeneca vaccine because of concerns about the risks of rare and severe clotting. The Australian Medical Association issued a joint statement with the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges on Thursday, urging people to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible, with the benefits of vaccination far outweighing any risks.
Morrison said the messaging in the public health campaign supporting vaccinations was “focussing on those vulnerable groups at the moment, and the second half of the year we’ll be able to be moving into the other age groups when the Pfizer vaccines will be coming through in large quantities”.
Morrison declared there was “no point in talking to people who are 30 years old at the moment because they can’t go and get a vaccine”.
“We’re talking to those who are eligible for the vaccine at the moment, which is over 50s, and particularly those who are over 70 and in the residential aged care facilities.”
He said there would be more advertising targeting elderly people in the coming weeks.
Asked what percentage of the Australian population would need to be vaccinated to ensure herd immunity, Morrison said: “There’s no hard and fast rule on that, and the medical advisers continue to look at that.”
“I’ve said that overseas, that what we’ve been seeing is that many populations levelling it out about the 60% mark, but medical opinion differs on those issues”.