Iron Mark
Dean Alston
On 2 April Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan declared: ‘These new harder border closures essentially mean we will be turning Western Australia into its own island, within an island — our own country … Western Australia is in a unique position. Our isolation is now our best defence. We need to use it to the best of our advantage.’ Other states were critical of his stance, but — as in Queensland — hard borders proved extremely popular with those inside them.