Vic Premier Leans Into Conflict With Federal Government Over International Travellers Vaccination Status

People line up at the Histopath pre-departure COVID testing clinic at Sydney International Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 23, 2021. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

The Australian Federal Government and the Victorian Labor Government are in conflict after the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews flagged that international tourists may need to be triple vaccinated, contradicting the double-dosed decision made by the Coalition.

On Feb. 7, the Federal Government announced that borders will open for fully vaccinated international travellers from Feb. 21, under the assumption that fully vaccinated means having been administered two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, speaking at the press conference on Feb. 8, Andrews implied that if the ATAGI decided that Australians would need to be triple dosed to be considered fully vaccinated, then that would be the same for international travellers.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews speaks at a media conference in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 24, 2021. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

“On the issue of two, three, whatever it finishes being, that’s a metaphor for the ATAGI in the first instance and I’m sure that the Commonwealth Government will reserve the right to change its view based on the advice that comes from experts.”

He flagged that the ATAGI “must be getting very close to making that decision,” and implied that the definition of fully vaccinated for international travellers may be brought up in the National Cabinet meeting coming up on Feb. 11.

“All the advice I get from our team is that three doses is what’s required in order to be as safe as you can be as order in order to be protected. So, let’s wait and see what that advice is,” he said, implying that Victoria may follow suit with ATAGI’s decisions if the definition for fully vaccinated is now changed.

However, Federal Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has accused Andrews of building uncertainty and urged him to reconsider.

Minister for Finance Simon Birmingham at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on May 13, 2021. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

“It’s a really great breakthrough for Australia’s tourism industry to be able to say, ‘we’re going to let everybody in who has had a double dose’, [because] that is still the standard that is advised by our health officers,” Birmingham told the Today show on Feb. 9.

“But to now have this sort of uncertainty cast across it is going to be a crippling blow to businesses that have been on their knees for two years now.”

“[Businesses] finally saw light at the end of the tunnel and now, of course, they’ve got this sort of uncertainty.”

Birmingham urged Andrews to reconsider and “back in the Commonwealth health advice” but reassured that anybody who comes to Australia will be able to get the boosters when they are here.

Melbourne Businesses Impacted By Omicron

The developing debate around what constitutes a fully vaccinated person comes as the Mayor of the City of Melbourne, Sarah Capp said she was waiting for the Andrews government to “emphatically” let people know they should return reported the Today show.

Capp said that the Omicron outbreak in the state was causing a “shadow lockdown” that had undoubtedly had a “devastating impact” for Melbourne’s small business owners.

The Victorian Government has continued to recommend workers, work from home and Capp expressed her wishes for it to be changed, she welcomes the state premier to announce to workers that “it is time to return to city workplaces” as soon as possible.

“This will be absolutely key for the future of our city,” she said.

Businesses within the Melbourne metropolitan area have especially taken due to the lack of office workers.

A person walks past a KFC outlet in Melbourne, Australia, on July 15, 2020. William West/AFP via Getty Images

David Perrotta,  owner of Cafe Andiamo in the tourist destination of Degraves Street in the metropolitan area for 16 years also told the Today Show he saw a drop in customers by about 50 percent due to a lack of office workers who are now all working at home.

“CBD can probably drop the ‘B’; just call it central district because there is no business,” Perrotta said.

“This is one of the most iconic streets in Melbourne and when you’ve got three or four shops for lease, and they’ve been for lease for a long time; you know that there’s a problem.”

Matt Canavan, Queensland Liberal Senator told the Today Show that Australia “has had enough of being split up as a country” with “effectively six different nations through much of the last two years.”

Canavan expressed that with Australia’s high vaccination rates, it is time for the country to come back together as one nation.

He said that Victoria being inconsistent will not just hurt Victoria, but will hurt the tourism industry of other states as well as “some people will just not turn up at all.”

“We need a consistent approach here, we can’t have a situation where someone wants to travel all the way from the other side of the world to Australia and they can’t come to all the different places.”

Canavan added that he would actually like to see “a scrap of all these vaccination rules” to go one step further.

“They are not doing anything to stop the spread,” he said.