Australia to reopen international borders February 21; Dutton denies calling PM a ‘psycho’ in mystery text exchange; NSW, Victoria both record under 10,000 new COVID-19 cases; QLD to scrap QR code check-ins

Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews said anyone unvaccinated who wants to come to Australia will have to apply for an exemption.

“They will have to provide proof that there is a medical reason that they cannot be vaccinated,” she said.

Ms Andrews is tipping a tourism boom for the hammered sector, two years after Australia closed its international borders.

Since November, when border restrictions first began to loosen for travel from a small number of countries, 300,000 people have visited Australia.

Tourism operators are crying out for international big-spenders.