Should Australia close its borders to returning Australians?
Tough calls for Australia to allow even fewer people to return home until more Aussies are vaccinated. NSW chief health officer Dr. Kerry Chant pours her English breakfast from a pot sporting a coronavirus tea-cosy  red, round and fluffy with blue wriggly legs. The COVID-cosy was knitted by a colleagues mum who wanted to help in some small way. Dr Chant loves it  she needs to keeps her enemy close. Right now, her enemy  and ours  is too close for comfort. The Delta variant has NSW, QLD and the Northern Territory in lockdown and all Australia on red alert. See also: Awkward reality about post-lockdown travel  All because one mask-less man drove COVID-carrying international flight crew on June 15, then spent the weekend in Sydneys east fouling everyones air. Victorian Premier Dan Andrews is a politician with a spine (albeit a busted one). Hes clearly had time to think during his recovery and, in his first interview back, demanded we restrict international arrivals until our vaccination numbers spike. Like us, Dan wants to unlock state borders and start us holidaying at home again. But Andrews reckons we need 70-80% of Aussies immunised before we risk a fresh breach from an international traveller burping COVID under a hotel door. He points to two nations who screwed up their initial response to COVID -19 but learned from the mistake. The UK is now 48.7% vaccinated and the US is at 47%. International travellers returning home. Even Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk  who still reckons her messy Maroons were robbed in Origin 2  agrees. Unlike Victoria, which so far has no new transmissions, her Banana Benders are again under siege with new cases. With just 4.7% jabbed, Australia dodged the first wave but swam into a shark. The problem wasnt demand but supply. Citizens and states were crying out for the vaccines (still are) but the Federal Government didnt see the big fin coming. Call The Ghostbusters. Delta has left the building and Australia is getting slimed. Today an emergency cabinet meeting agreed to ban isolating domestic travellers from quarantining near high-risk international travellers. Its a good start. And there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful. For one thing, the vaccine works. At the now-infamous West Hoxton Birthday Party, six healthcare workers who attended walked away with just a bellyful of Fairy bread and Fanta. But 24 unvaccinated guests werent so lucky  they took home a lolly-bag full of COVID. Meanwhile, on Cronulla Beach, PM Scott Morrison drinks from the Tiki mug he picked up on the Hawaiian holiday he took while bushfires smoked Australia. Then he passes it to Health Minister Hunt who sips it too (without sanitising). Every time ScoMo smacks his lips and infers: Weve got COVID under control I see him guzzling Deny-Ale like Bob Hawke used to neck beers at the cricket. Fact is, Morrisons shell be right attitude has bitten Australians on the bum. Instead of doubling down on the dumb luck of being an isolated island whose Premiers shut borders at the first whiff of COVID, he snoozed on vaccination. Now Dan and Annastacia reckon weve got to deny 36,000 ex-pat Aussies return passage until we make like producers on The Voice, and get Delta under control. Dan and Annastacia reckon weve got to deny 36,000 ex-pat Aussies return passage. Yes, it hits the heartstrings hard to deny them safe sanctuary but we must all put Australia first. For all our sakes they must be locked out while we lock down. Lets keep our overseas friends close. But lets also do as Dr. Chant does every time she has a cuppa  and keep our common enemy closer. Road rule no-one knows about trucks