You do realise that Beryl does not have carte blanche to define "Australian values", right?

"Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday morning the lack of transmission of the UK strain of COVID-19 showed there was, "very, very clear evidence that the Australian system had been tested and tested again and continues to function".

Given that Federal involvement is quite limited, that is quite a statement.

Tennis players?

On individual exemptions granted by the Department of Home Affairs, Australian Government.

As international arrivals, of course.

Blindingly obvious, probably a surprise to some...

What’s your point ?

Derive your own conclusions from the facts presented.

Far be it from me to tell you what to think.

Sorry, my question was to WingNut60.

That Western Australia has every right to decline becoming a NSW clone.

We made that point when we initially declined to join the Federation.
The feeling hasn't changed much in the intervening 120 years.

Parochialism has always been a tactic used by Political leaders of all stripes, a quick google search reveals every single state and territory has had the use of the term "Un-SA/NT/Qld/Tassie" etc.

I'd go a step further and say the term "Un-Australian" is equally as meaningless, because when ever someone is challenged to list these uniquely Australian values they just rattle off common standards of human decency.

And in those 120 years, WA has happily accepted the generosity the Commonwealth has offered!

And vice versa.....or are you suggesting that WA has not played it's part?
Give us the right to jump ship and you might be surprised by the result.

If successful the interesting question would be whether WA Independent (or whatever you want to call it) would waste money on a defense force.

That would determine whether the Chinese are resisted or welcomed with open arms when they decide to colonise WA Independent (or whatever you want to call it) for the iron ore.

For once the cry "the world's most remote capital" will ring true as you're left to fight your own battles as you see fit.
Plus all that remoteness for re-education camps and all that desert for burying bodies - wet dreams for the current Chinese dictatorship.

I think things would have been a little different if each state had to pick up the tab for all the measures that the Feds have poured directly to the populous.

As I understand, this particular forum is for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

You uber-parochial Westralians can go get your own forum where you can praise McClown for the simplest of COVID strategies - one which decimates aviation by the day, and has had a huge impact on the airline workers of WA with unnecessary and irrational quarantine requirements.

He has enacted a simple plan for a state of simple people. Enough is enough.

Enough is enough of what? WA opens its borders and all flying in Australia goes back to normal? Is that what you are saying? Then WA is the heart of the nation.. perhaps we should move the ACT over here.

Enough of the border decisions based on popular politics instead of real health issues.

Everyone knows there’s very little chance domestic aviation will go back to normal any time soon but with McCoward’s knee jerk policies in place, the chance is zero.

I would love to see WA have a succession McClown supreme ruler all ties to be cut with Australia. That means paying you’re own health care, unemployment, financing and rehabilitating remote communities oh don’t forget you need to defend your self you will need Army, Navy and Air Force most of those will be Australian citizens they will have to return to the mother country.
WA ppl think they could do it alone just because of a little iron ore I’d would love to see it happen. Please let’s vote it has mine.

no worries. You lose all federal funding. You lose your passport. You can’t call yourself West Australian’ because you’re not part of Australia. You have mining. Great. Other trade? Perhaps these countries you trade with will decide to ‘renegotiate’ terms. Who controls the waters off your coastline? Not Mcclown. Who controls your air rights? Not Mcclown.

All you ‘let us leave and things will be better’ morons really have no idea, and continuously prove that maybe you’re not the smartest people in the room.

The arrogance and ignorance of some is sad. GST breakdown state by state 2018-19 State GST share per dollar of Total GST distribution $m VIC 98c $16,830M WA 47c $3,255M NSW 85c $18,030M SA $1.47 $6,751 M
and here for how much WA supports the rest of the country: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/defaul...ry-2018-19.pdf for balance of payments data.

WA earns 36% of Australian export income but only spends 11% of the import expenditure. About half the exports go to China.. WA would potentially be better off alone. In 1933 the population voted overwhelmingly to secede. With respect to names, only WA and SA are named as part of Australia. The other mainland states seem to cling to the motherland!

McGowan land should have a long and prosperous future then. All the best.

Anyway, preliminary reports have a hotel worker and a police officer returning positives in hotel quarantine in Melbourne. Let’s hope they can control the tennis players also.

5 people in total now infected from the tennis charter flights,i would have thought these people would be a really low risk group considering the testing regime etc they go through.
I know there are plenty on here saying borders should be open & more people allowed back into the country but of the people outside our borders,how many have it & how many are going to spread it?
Quarantine is the only way to control it & there are limits on every service that can be provided.

No worries to you too. You lose all West Australian revenue. We buy a printing press and make our own passports. We can proudly call ourselves "West Australian’ or anything else we like.
We have mining. Other trade? (2019 - WA produced 58% of Australia's wheat exports, >60% of LNG exports).
Domestic banana production is adequate for WA market. You can keep yours.
Perhaps those countries we trade with will agree to ‘renegotiate’ improved terms.
We get to control the waters off our coastline and actually allocate some resources to this side of the continent.
And yes, we get to control our air rights - funded by over-flight charges paid by "eastern Australians" heading for Europe.

Then let's see how the five remaining states establish equitable voting rights in the senate.
You know, majority of the people in the majority of the states. Or maybe you don't.
Or set yourselves up as a US style republic - 1st president Beryl. Replace the Cook statue at Kurnell with one of Beryl and Daryl.
I'd give it twenty years before inter-state rivalry turned into civil war.

Son: Please daddy... what's the other side of the Blue Mountains.

Father : We don't talk about that son. It's too horrible.
Just a wasteland full of old mining excavations and unsophisticated barbarians.
(Hushed voice) - They don't even have leagues clubs

A few arrogant twats on here.

If and when China come for a “visit” I know where there will be heading. You laugh, but...

What will you do? Fend them off with 30 clapped out F100s or come back sucking up to Mamma’s teat? By then Mum might have just had enough.

Well there we can agree.
I can't see the Chinese wanting anything from the "remaining states".
Not unless they're into leagues clubs and female impersonators.

Hmmmm...lives in HGK.
Calls people twats.

Which passport do you use up there? The Aussie one or your Pommie one?
How's CX treating you?

You will need more bait ya Clown.

Vag when the Chinese colonise WA Independant (or whatever you wish to call it) they won't be buying the iron ore any more, it will be appropriated, any wealth generated will be directed to the CCP under the leadership of the Glorious Leader Xi Jinpin and after suitable re-education the colony will be provided by the CCP with enough to survive but little more. You of course will be grateful to Xi Jinpin for his abounding generosity.

Think I read HK bureaucrats have 1 month in which to pledge allegiance - not to Hong Kong but the Chinese Communist Party.
Hope WA residents note the pledge - may need to use it in the not too distant future! ;)

WA has its own international Airforce, plenty Singaporean planes, after all don’t they own Pearce now?

As a West Australian (I hate even saying that as we are one country), I feel like that I am one of the few that aren't blinded by McGowan and his cult following. He's an embarrassment to the country and is showing that he really has no idea how to handle this crisis. Making WA a fortress is his only tool. So many people I've spoken to (friends, family etc) worship him like he's a god. Makes me feel like maybe I'm totally missing something. But it's good to see outsiders from other states see exactly how useless he is.
I've sent emails to my local Labor MP asking what the plan going forward is, how long can they keep shutting us off from the rest of the country for. Nothing... Won't return my calls. Blocked me from all social media for asking general questions.
Feels like WA has become a dictatorship in a sense...

The only thing more annoying than Queensland exceptionalism, is WA exceptionalism.

What will you do when you end up a quarry?

tomorrows headline ...

China offers Fiji etc. AUD$100 billion loan(which they'll never ever repay), then few Chinese fighter jets will land at NAN & few Chinese aircraft carriers/destroyers will "visit" Suva & Lautoka ports, "permanently".

As a WA lurker, I cringe when I read this thread. Rednecks both sides of the border. Not everyone wants to secede and I'm wary of the Dragon. Yes WA does well but the wealth is for all Australians to benefit from. We can't drink all the beer and wine ourselves, it just wouldn't be healthy.

McGowan has painted himself into a corner with this approach. It is very difficult now to start risk managing when you've been risk avoiding all this time. One slip up and he will get hurt at the polls - not fatally but hurt all the same. That to me points to more a political framework for dealing with the pandemic than a health and safety one. Very tough for the opposition to attack.

Interesting pattern emerging.

Those most satisfied with the measures taken by any particular state are those resident.

Those least satisfied are those residing elsewhere.

Seems to extend internationally...

In other news, looks like international wont happen until 2022...pretty much as expected, but could be even longer

https://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...e53ebb7e014e7c

I’ll say one thing about the WA hard border policy, it ensured mining companies went back to their previous shifts after the swing time was doubled at the start of the pandemic, to limit movement, (ie back to two weeks on instead of 4). This led to a return of intrastate flying to previous levels, whilst at the expense of interstate flying, so I guess some people win, some lose. If a looser border was enacted then would mining companies increase their swing time again, leading to a decrease in intrastate flying? Who knows, they’re the ones who really run the state.

Despite most of the anger here directed at one state leader truth is most states are taking a hard line when community transmission occurs, changing borders, isolation requirements, testing requirements, hot spots, points of entry requirements on an hourly basis sometimes. This pretty much stuffs up forward planning for travel from any state to another.

There has been one person pretty much absent in this debate however. If, like so many people here want, we are meant to act like one country, where is the leader of that country? MIA. Too afraid to make hard choices as it might lose him his 2 seat majority.

I’m glad they stepped up the start of the vaccine program, although it would be better to ensure the required numbers are immunised well before the original end of October. Another thing he can show some leadership on is federal control of quarantine away from cities.

It doesn’t take much to show some leadership Scotty.....

Technically, international quarantine is a federal responsibility.

It was made so shortly after the Spanish Flu epidemic, in order to settle disputes and inconsistencies between the states regarding, you guessed it, borders and quarantine.

That was actually made so about 20 years BEFORE the 1918 flu:

51. Legislative powers of the Parliament

The (Federal) Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:

(ix) quarantine;

I am pretty sure this is already happening, have you not seen all the infrastructure being built in FiJi already.

With supposed herd immunity achieved by October? I guess he’s just remaining conservative and narrowing expectations, but it’s hard to look at this article without incredulity.

I hope that happens and then they can shut their borders off for good. Oh and they can take Clive Palmer as well :)