Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. Border travel restrictions imposed by state and territory governments have negatively impacted the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of regional Australians who live and work in and across border communities. Can the minister please outline what steps the national cabinet is taking to secure a national approach from state and territory governments to issues of quarantine, essential movement across borders and the identification of hotspots to ensure that regional and rural Australians' access to health care, education and employment is not limited unnecessarily?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McKenzie for that question. The government is committed to keeping Australia as open as possible in a way that is COVID safe. In the wake of this pandemic, we must always be focused on protecting both people's lives and people's livelihoods. We are working with state and territory governments to put in place practical commonsense solutions to a whole series of problems that have arisen as a result of hard state border closures and which are affecting access to services and our economic recovery.

For example, we need to ensure that relevant exemptions are in place and applied consistently and efficiently so that disruptions to critical services for border residents are minimised as much as possible. National cabinet previously codified the freight protocol, ensuring freight can keep moving efficiently and safely during this pandemic. Last Friday, national cabinet noted some recent changes by states and territories to make it easier for people to cross borders, subject to appropriate arrangements, to access essential services and activities. Since Monday, farmers and critical agricultural workers who reside outside the border zone in Victoria now have a new pathway to enter New South Wales and move outside the border bubble for work. For people living in the border zone, a permit can be obtained for travel within the border zone for the purpose of work if they cannot work from home and to obtain medical care or access to health supplies. Victorian residents can obtain a permit to enter New South Wales for the purpose of receiving non-emergency medical or hospital services, with no permit required in emergency situations.

On Friday, national cabinet also asked the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to develop a common understanding of 'hotspot' across jurisdictions and consider movement restrictions for affected residents in that context. This further work will provide people who are living in those areas, particularly in regional and rural border communities, with clear guidance on where and when they can access health and other services or where restrictions may need— (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, a supplementary question?

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Victorian Labor government has imposed strict restrictions on regions not impacted by COVID-19 and just announced that these may continue for a further 12 months, whilst failing to stop Melburnians heading out to the regions. Can the minister please advise what impact pre-emptive border restrictions may have on health and education access, employment, and people in need of compassionate consideration?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have seen widely reported examples of hardship for residents in rural and regional border communities. Such impacts should be minimised wherever possible, and they can be minimised in a way that is COVID safe. Throughout this pandemic, when it comes to restrictions on people's freedoms, we have been guided by the medical advice. Decisions on border restrictions must continue to be informed by public health advice. Ultimately, these are matters for the states and territories. However, it is up to the states and territories to set out clearly the medical advice informing their decisions and to ensure that there's a genuine public health upside in return for the restrictions and costs imposed on individual Australians and on our communities—in particular, regional and rural communities across Australia.

There is no rule book on how best to deal with this crisis, but it is critical that decisions are made on the basis of advice from the medical experts and not based on political considerations. That is why the national cabinet has asked the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to develop a consistent approach— (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, a final supplementary question?

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Border restrictions are severely impacting our agricultural industry and food supply chains due to the creation of significant workforce limitations. Can the minister please provide an update to the Senate on how the Liberal and Nationals government is taking steps to address these concerns?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Nationals for that question. National cabinet agreed on 21 August to the development of an agricultural workers code which would set out nationally consistent measures to support the movement of workers critical to the agricultural sector across state borders. The code would help to support individuals and occupations that help ensure the continuity of the agricultural sector. Without these workers, agriculture in Australia comes to a halt, with all of the consequences of that, including for people in the city. That is very important for all of us to remember. This includes not just on-farm workers, such as shearers, grain harvesters and fruit pickers, but also those who provide agricultural businesses with critical services, such as vets and agricultural mechanics. Sheep still need shearing, crops still need harvesting and animals still need to be attended to by vets. There have been recent encouraging changes to exemptions in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, but there is more work to be done with the New South Wales-Victorian border, in particular.