• If Australia continues with its current approach to pandemic containment it could be decades before international borders reopen, the Australian Medical Association has warned.
• While the AMA suggests many Australians don’t think border closures past 2022 are “reasonable”, in fact evidence on the ground suggests the majority of Australians are content to sacrifice freedom for safety.
• The statement comes as the Morrison government is forced to defend its border plans amid pushback from industry groups.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

The nation’s peak body for doctors has warned that Australia’s current strategy of COVID-19 elimination would keep the country’s international borders closed for decades.

The Australian Medical Association said if the current strategy to “stay free” of COVID-19 continues, it will be far longer than a year until Australia reopens its borders.

The statement comes as the government faces increasing pressure from affected industries to rethink its plan for a gradual reopening from mid-2022.

Australia plans to reopen borders to the rest of the world from the middle of 2022, according to the Federal Budget unveiled last week, along with a plan to fully vaccinate the population by the end of the year.

AMA president Omar Khorshid, weighing in on Australia’s pathway back to “relatively normal lives,” told a News Corp publication that “for Australia to stay free of COVID, we have to keep our borders shut for decades.”

Khorshid questioned the government’s long-term strategy and suggested many Australians would push back against border closures extending past 2022.

“I don’t think any Australian thinks that’s a reasonable thing to do, particularly when we do have a pathway out of this through vaccination,” he said.

However a growing body of evidence suggests the majority of Australians are more than happy to sacrifice travel to ensure Australia remains free of the pandemic.

A Newspoll survey published by The Australian found that a massive 73% of Australians are in favour of keeping the international border closed until at least mid-2022, even if vaccinations are offered to the entire eligible population.

And the re-election in March of WA Premier Mark McGowan was widely reported to have been in part due to support in the state for his strict state border closures and hardline approach to arrivals.

Khorshid echoed statements from many industry groups claiming that the country cannot be free of COVID-19 forever and that vaccinations were the best path towards reopening while also protecting the population.

Mixed messages on borders continue

The Prime Minister on Tuesday told reporters it was not safe to allow fully-vaccinated Australians to travel overseas, suggesting that even a completed vaccine rollout would not be enough to guarantee open borders.

“I understand that everyone is keen to get back to a time that we once knew. But the reality is we are living this year in a pandemic that is worse than last year,” Scott Morrison said.

However Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews told morning show “Sunrise” on Wednesday that Border Force was working hard to make sure Australia could open its borders as soon as the medical advice confirmed it was safe, with the government continuing to explore home quarantine as an option to help increase incoming traveller numbers.

“That is a matter that we will be discussing with the state and territory governments,” she said, adding that it wants to “make it as effective as possible and as efficient as possible to bring people home as soon as we possibly can.”

Statements made by government officials mark an increasingly muddy response to industry groups that have responded with disbelief to further delays to international borders reopening.

Industries reeling from the impact of border bans including airlines, tourism operators and universities have been urging the federal government to fast track the opening of borders.

Of particular note was a statement made by Virgin Australia boss Jayne Hrdlicka on Tuesday that Australia “can’t keep (COVID-19) out forever” and that while “some people may die…it will be way smaller than the flu.”

On Tuesday the Australian Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy told business leaders that Australia’s strong economic recovery meant stimulus spending will eventually need to be turned off, suggesting the government doesn’t think quickly reopening international borders is essential to growth.

“Ongoing momentum in the economy, the rollout of the vaccine and continued fiscal and monetary policy support are expected to continue to drive and facilitate the transition to private sector-led growth over the forecast period,” Kennedy said.

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.