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SYDNEY (AFP) – A heated dispute over the closures of Australia’s state borders has brought the country’s prime minister to tears, sparked bitter recriminations from rival regional leaders and even spoke of secession.
Travel between the nation’s independent-minded states and territories has been mostly banned since Covid-19 hit Australia in March.
But a disgruntled federal government is increasing pressure on prime ministers to open up, causing the discussion to accelerate.
Media coverage has highlighted the plight of grieving families separated by the closures and the state officials they hold responsible.
A family facing a huge quarantine bill after their dying father received more than A $ 200,000 (Singapore $ 199,230) in donations when their ordeal was made public.
Mark Keans’ family, who has terminal cancer, had previously been told that only one of his four children would be able to enter Queensland to see him.
The state currently blocks nearly all arrivals from New South Wales, which it considers a Covid-19 hotspot.
“How do you choose which child gets a chance to see his dad for the last time?” Keans’ sister, Tamara Langborne, told national broadcaster ABC.
Such is the level of anger that the Queensland medical director has been forced to seek police protection after threats against his life.
COMMONWEALTH RIVALRY
Australia began life as six self-governing British states and territories that agreed to form a federation around 1900.
The rivalry between those regions had persisted, usually on the sports field and in lighthearted banter, but the coronavirus has made regional sentiment more pronounced and more popular.
Many prime ministers advocating for state shutdowns have seen their public approval ratings skyrocket.
Western Australia’s center-left prime minister, Mark McGowan, was applauded as he ridiculed the “Pinot grigio-sipping” commentator in Sydney, near where he was born, for telling him to open up.
Western Australia, he insisted, will remain “an island within an island.”
An approving local newspaper declared its own “Westralia Day” and #WAexit has been trending on social media, a Western Australian echo of Britain’s spiteful exit from the European Union.
Labor Member of Parliament Patrick Gorman, writing in The Australian on Friday, cautioned that such a speech cannot be dismissed lightly.
“The dangerous idea of secession has been rekindled in Perth and throughout our state,” he said.
“Those on the east coast of Australia greatly underestimate the damage this could do to the federation.”
Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison has even expressed concern that “at times” over the past few months “he has felt that Australia might break down.”
Although he had long tried to appear above the fray, even as the party’s attack dogs were swooping down on those who support the restrictions, he has now joined the fight.
In a recent radio interview, Morrison said that he had personally pleaded with the center-left prime minister of Queensland to allow Sarah Caisip to attend her father’s funeral after traveling from Canberra.
“I have asked you to overturn the decision that would allow Sarah to go to the funeral,” he tearfully told 2GB.
“It is not about borders, it is not about federation, it is not about politicians, it is not about elections.”
Morrison’s critics say that is exactly what the dispute is about.
Many of the border ranks are fought along political lines, and Morrison’s ruling conservative national government routinely targets states with opposition Labor party leaders.
Queensland Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk is in the midst of a bitter reelection campaign against the Conservative candidate from Morrison’s coalition.
She has since responded, acknowledging “heartbreaking” cases, but insisting that she will not be intimidated or intimidated by policies designed to keep Queenslanders safe.
Western Australian Prime Minister McGowan suggested that the Queensland leader would be elected before the October state elections.
“Tasmania and South Australia have borders, I don’t see them being attacked,” McGowan said of the liberal-run states.
“I simply urge everyone, at the national level, to stand down from partisan attacks,” he said.
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