moneypenny20

NSW/Victoria border... Stable door comes to mind.

Beoz

We should be thinking how we open up the international borders and living with COVID, not shutting down internal borders.

scrubbedexpat098

this thing is far from over, 127 new cases in Victoria, their biggest spike yet. All the while there are dickheads flouting rules put in place to protect them, relaxing those rules is stupid. Opening international borders should be the very last thing on our minds.

Beoz

Exactly the point. Can't control the dickhead for the next 2 years. Time to manage living with COVID.

scrubbedexpat098

if we can't manage our own issues, is there any sense in importing more? Don't think so. We might end up in full lock down yet, Jacinda might have played her cards perfectly, that's gonna sting. Be interesting to hear what you mean by manage, I have an idea

Beoz

Victoria which had the strictest lockdown in Australia under Chairman Dan has shown that being sensible is more important that being strict. And what Australia has achieved, ignoring Victoria's screw up, shows New Zealand that border control was key, not a total lockdown. While the COVID free badge might have won a few hearts Ardern's party is now plumetting in the polls.

Now that we know how to handle the internal stuff, we can start looking at what it takes to get those borders slowly opened. As a starting point, you can permit non citizens and non residents providing they pay their own quarantine. Develop better testing so the incubation period can be covered shortening forced quarrentine. There are ways and means to start this process.

There is a happy medium to be had. The UK might be pushing it a step too far. New Zealand will be in lockout til 2022. There is a sensible medium to be had on borders

For most they may not visibly see the detrimental effects of what closed borders actually means.

scrubbedexpat098

now that we know how to handle the internal stuff? I'd say we clearly don't with a spike like that. A sensible medium you say, that inevitably means volunteering other people to be on the front line, so it's easy for you to suggest it.
people can't be trusted to be sensible of their own volition, so what option is there other than to crack down on them?
So what if ratings have gone down, ? All that proves is that new Zealand has people who value the economy above all else too

Beoz

Chairman Dan can't manage hotel quarantine so he's been relieved of that duty - no more international flights to Melbourne. To date that spike has been contained to a few areas of Melbourne. The rest of Australia has done exceptionally well with a good balance of sensibility and social distancing. Therefore we look beyond Chairman Dan's mess for the good of everyone else.

So what ....... that is the number one job of a government.

scrubbedexpat098

Thousands of people at Bondi and the ruby princess say you're underestimating how much luck has played a part in NSW success in dealing with it, geography too where other states are concerned. I know you want to hand responsibility for it to scomo but its largely luck. There is no actual test in airports til you're about to board, did you know that? I've generally been in the airport about an hour with hundreds of other people up until then, luck.

A government who thinks its number one job is re election, is a shitty government. So yeah, so what.

Beoz

Thousands on Bondi Beach was fine. Media beat up - Telephoto lenses peering through a kilometre stretch of beach made 10 people look like they were standing next to each other. The Ruby Princess was not fine but the luck behind that was once most people departed Circular Quay they went in all directions, interstate, overseas. It was so heavily publicized on the media that those who were on board the ship knew they had to isolate and get tested. Is your airport experience with international arrivals or just domestic travellers, more specific, FIFO workers contained within a lockdown state?

Money may not bring happiness as the saying goes but its a very strong contributor. If people have work, can provide for themselves, their family, with a few small pleasures along the way which cost money, then a government is doing its job and can enjoy re-election. The Chairman and Ardern don't quite get that little bit.

PS - if we get political we should probably take it over to the other thread.

scrubbedexpat098

I'm not discussing politics, I'm discussing restrictions and dickheads. My personal airport experience is in WA, but my co workers assure me that interstate travel is the same process. They get an uber to their quarantine accommodation in Perth. There are so many holes in the process that it can only work by dumb luck, because there are so many morons around. They offered for my wife to come and visit me, I could've spent the week in bed with her, and then flown back to the Pilbara without isolating, that seems pretty dumb to me.
If those people weren't next to each other why didn't lots of them look like midgets? I know you think nsw people are better than Victorian people but they're really not, again it's just luck. We'd do well not to ride that luck for too long.

Amazulu

Must be tough but from a financial standpoint would be a great situation! Good for you if it is

Earning big candy for 6 months can make a big difference from a financial perspective

Beoz

I thought WA had a hard locked down border and the last community transmitted case was in April or something like that. Uber from Perth airport should be fine right? How would your wife get in?

scrubbedexpat098

My wife would have got an exemption because of my work status. She'd fill out paperwork stating she didn't have symptoms, hadn't been overseas etc, and have her temperature checked. Were she asymptomatic she wouldn't have the intrusive test, and as we know asymptomatic people are the biggest spreaders of this beast. I could've shut down the mine by doing nothing outside the rules. Would you want to be the uber driver in this case?

Beoz

I am surprised WA's hard line border controls are so easy to work around. A colleague of mine relocated from Brisbane to Perth in April and had to quarrentine in a serviced apartment for 2 weeks. He had a 2 year old, no friends or family in Perth, Coles online ordering was on the go slow, they ran out of nappies and had to get nappy creative. Seems like WA doesn't really have consistent rules.