'Aus wasn't built to have internal borders': PM

The Prime Minister has drawn a clear line between the federal government's control of state borders and the commonwealth's authority over states' relations with foreign powers. When questioned about how proposed new legislation - which would grant the federal government power to veto agreements between states and foreign powers - would translate to federal control of internal borders, Scott Morrison said the matter was “a different area of grey”. “The constitutional issues around this are not as clear cut as the constitutional issues when it comes to the commonwealth foreign affairs powers,” he said. “Australia wasn’t built to have internal borders,” he said. “Having internal borders in Australia is an extreme response which can be necessary in extreme circumstances and based on proper medical advice and a very transparent process for doing that. “When borders get put up within a country like Australia it is very difficult to try and avoid the kind of circumstances we’ve seen occur.” The Prime Minister has drawn a clear line between federal control of state borders and the commonwealth's authority over states' relations with foreign powers. Image: News Corp Australia

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