Bordering on the absurd | The Spectator Australia

November 3 is shaping up as a big day in the 2020 calendar: the US elections; the Melbourne Cup; and a much-anticipated Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting. It also happens to be the day the Full Bench of the High Court of Australia will sit to hear Clive Palmer’s challenge to Western Australia’s border closure.

State and territory border entry restrictions have been one of the surprises thrown up by the Covid pandemic. While many other countries have imposed restrictions on movement at various times, few have resorted to the kind of internal border controls that have become a feature of Australia’s response to the pandemic.

Premiers and chief ministers like to pin the ‘health advice’ label on everything they…