Picture by Sandra Sanders/ReutersCriticism is mounting over the sustainability of “Fortress Australia” after the government plunged nearly seven million people into a snap lockdown despite one of the world’s strictest border controls to keep out Covid-19. Scott Morrison, the prime minister, first sealed Australia off in March 2020, as he steered his country with success to a zero-Covid policy. But Australia’s cities and states have repeatedly been thrown into snap lockdowns because of leaky quarantine facilities. That followed increased criticism of the social and economic cost of the Fortress Australia policy following Mr Morrison’s announcement earlier this month of a loose target of mid-2022 for reopening the borders. Three MPs from Mr Morrison’s Liberal Party, Dave Sharma, Tim Wilson and Jason Falinski, have called for vaccinated people to be allowed to travel abroad without special permission and quarantine at home upon returning.

Source: Irish Independent May 30, 2021 01:36 UTC