Western Australian state border shut until February 2022
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has unveiled the stateâs latest Covid roadmap which will see the border remain firmly shut until February 2022.
McGowan wants to see a double-dose vaccine target of 90% before he considers opening up travel into the state. International travel will open at the same time.
Â
#LIVE: Premier Mark McGowan and Health Minister Roger Cook will provide a #COVID19 update and detail WAâs Transition Plan. #9Newshttps://t.co/nA6U81RxLS
â 9News Perth (@9NewsPerth) November 5, 2021
Â
The state is currently at 63.7% fully vaccinated. Many industries have begun firing employees who refuse to get vaccinated, especially in the mining industry which is one of the largest employers in the state. At a protest last week against mandatory vaccination, nurses laid their uniforms outside Parliament House.
Â
đŠđș Perth WA nurses leaving there uniforms at parliaments step, they will not comply. pic.twitter.com/cCcjEhqEVk
â Anonymous UK Citizen (@AnonCitizenUK) November 1, 2021
Â
McGowan's press conference today ends speculation about the state's future.
Â
âToday is a significant day for Western Australia. It is the day we announce our âsafe transition planâ to ease our controlled border and provide a soft landing out of the pandemic,â said McGowan.
âWe all know that Covid is as unpredictable as it is tragic. We are all aware of the death and misery it has caused around Australia and throughout the world. That is why our approach towards a safe transition plan hasnât been rushed.â
Â
On November 3, Flight Centre threatened to sue the McGowan government unless it re-opened the state at a 70-80% vaccination level.
CEO Graham Turner said that he thought the company had a good chance of winning a legal challenge against McGowanâs health orders if the premier refused to reopen borders within a reasonable time frame.
Â
âThe constitution states very clearly about freedom of movement and freedom of trade. That's the basic concept,â said Turner.
Â
The McGowan government has become notorious for isolationist and cruel health orders which have kept families apart and even prevented Western Australian residents from returning to their own homes. An unknown number of businesses, particularly in the travel and tourist areas, have been ruined by border closures.
Â
âThe aim is to provide certainty for Western Australians,â continued McGowan. âTo provide certainty on how business and our unique way of life can continue safely after we further ease our controlled borders.â
Â
McGowan stressed that the 90% required target for opening could be reached earlier â or later â but said that a specific firm reopening date would be set once 80% double-dose had been achieved.
According to the premier, if remote (mostly Indigenous) communities failed to meet required state-wide vaccination targets, intrastate borders would be set up to âprotectâ those communities.
Â
âThis measure would be in place until the vaccine rate in those regions is lifted to satisfactory levels,â said McGowan.
âCutting off the Pilbara â or any region for that matter â is not something that I want to do. But, if that is whatâs required to protect the local community and local industries, then we will take that step based on the health advice at the time.â

Alexandra Marshall
Australian Contributor
Alexandra Marshall is an Australian political opinion commentator. She is a contributor to Sky News, the Spectator Australia, Good Sauce, Penthouse Australia, and Caldron Pool with a special interest in liberty and Asian politics. Prior to writing, she spent a decade as an AI architect in the retail software industry designing payroll and rostering systems.
https://twitter.com/ellymelly