CLIA slams “devastating blow for thousands of Australian workers”.
Australia’s Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has this afternoon announced a two month extension of the Human Biosecurity Emergency period which has been in place since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The ban imposes a range of measures, including banning the entry of passenger cruise ships into Australian waters.
Hunt said the move, which would be reviewed on a monthly basis in relation to the cruise sector, would “allow the important measures currently in place to continue as the Government continues to reopen Australia”.
The Minister committed to reviewing the cruise ban on a monthly basis, saying the Government “continues to work constructively with the cruise ship industry, with whom we remain actively engaged alongside state and territory governments to enable a phased resumption fo cruising in Australian on the basis of medical advice”.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) International Australasia MD Joel Katz said the extension was “another devastating blow to the 18,000 Australians whose livelihoods depend on cruise tourism”.
“Australia has become the only major cruise market in the world without an agreed plan to resume cruising, which is ordinarily worth more than $5 billion a year to the Australian economy,” he said.
Katz noted the move was also a further disappointment for thousands of cruise fans who now faced even more uncertainty around their future holiday plans. “Cruising has changed enormously in response to the pandemic and the work our industry has done with medical experts internationally has resulted in health protocols that are successful in mitigating the risks of COVID-19”.
“With vaccination rates increasing and borders reopening, we need agreement on the way forward throughout Australia so there can be a careful revival of cruise tourism in communities around the country.”
More details in Cruise Weekly on Monday.