'This pandemic cannot force Australians to retreat into provincialism': PM

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has thanked regional Australians for carrying a “heavy burden” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as he addresses some of the key issues faced by rural communities this year.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph Bush Summit, the Prime Minister said a key task for the medical expert panel was to establish a clear, medical definition of a coronavirus hotspot in order for states and territories to effectively roll out a containment strategy.

He said that would be the next step in moving away from internal borders.

“Australia was not built to have internal borders, in fact the very point of federation was not to have them, that was the point of Australia,” Mr Morrison said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has touched everyone, anywhere in the world in some way, shape or form.

“I know that state borders are putting enormous stress and strain on Australians, especially those in regional communities.

“This is heartbreaking stuff and I can understand people’s frustration and indeed anger.

“We need though to focus on getting to a place where we don’t have the borders and that they are unnecessary, keeping Australia as open as possible while managing the twin health crises of economies and health.

“So the next step is we’ve got to get these principles established to ease the impact of these restrictions.

“We must be one and indivisible as a nation, whether we’re from the bush … the city … we must be Australians first and we must not allow this crisis, this pandemic, to force us to retreat into provincialism.”

Image: News Corp Australia

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