Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's national plan facilitates the safe opening of Australia's international borders and ensures that Australians and permanent residents currently waiting overseas can return home?

Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. I congratulate the people in his electorate of Forde who have rolled up their sleeves and helped Australia to reach the significant milestone of a 70 per cent vaccination rate right across the country. We are officially in phase B of the national plan. As we continue to hit those vaccination milestones we will reopen our international borders, and we will do that in line with the national plan. We want to make sure that families, friends and loved ones can be reunited as soon as possible. We want to bring into this country the international students who have long enjoyed learning and studying here in Australia. We want to make sure that we can bring in the skilled workers that Australian industries so desperately need. As soon as we possibly safely can do so we will be bringing back international tourists so that they can enjoy everything that we have to offer here in this country.

We have made it very clear that the first step in reopening our borders is lifting the travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and their families, including parents, both here and overseas. With many states and territories moving to home quarantine or to no quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers, international travel will be far easier. It will also mean that fully vaccinated Australians wanting to return from overseas can come home quicker.

We know that vaccination is the key to being able to safely reopen to the world, which is why we have been planning for a time when we reach a vaccination rate of 80 per cent, which is phase C of the national plan. We are on track to achieve that nationally early next month. As someone who represents an electorate on a state border, I have to say that I am looking forward to the day when state borders are a sign on the side of the road and not a roadblock, not something that stops people from being able to enter and come home.

From a Commonwealth perspective, we will manage a sensible staged reopening of our international borders. The Australian Border Force stand ready—and they are—to support the reopening of our international airports. They will be working very closely with airlines to support passengers as they enter and leave Australia.

The Australian people have done the right thing. They have achieved that very significant milestone of a 70 per cent vaccination rate today. They can be absolutely assured that the Morrison government is committed to restoring our normal way of life and the freedoms that generations of Australians have enjoyed for years.