December

1 December

Australia’s Golden Triangle between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane finally reopens after Queensland lifts its border restrictions to the NSW capital and all of Victoria. Qantas and Jetstar estimate 9,000 passengers were booked to travel on Tuesday from Sydney and Melbourne to Queensland. The airline group now says it will operate more than 420 return flights per week across 19 routes between Queensland and both Sydney and Melbourne. This compares with around 40 return flights per week when borders were closed. It also means Sydney-Brisbane and Melbourne-Brisbane have returned to their pre-COVID position in the top three busiest air routes in the country – effectively re-establishing the so-called Golden Triangle.

2 December

Australia’s long-mooted goal of removing all state borders by Christmas could be on after WA announces it will drop restrictions to NSW and Victoria next Tuesday. Premier Mark McGowan, however, warns he will not hesitate to reinstate the restrictions if there is a further outbreak of COVID. “Western Australia does remain susceptible to an outbreak given nearly all physical distancing and gathering restrictions have been removed,” he says on Tuesday.