Hope at last! Scott Morrison outlines a four-phase transition towards finally ending the cycle of lockdowns and border closures - as he cuts arrival caps in half Some 34,000 Australians are registered to return home from overseas But the travel caps have now been cut due to demands from Labor premiers Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed to reduce the caps at National Cabinet By Charlie Moore, Political Reporter For Daily Mail Australia Published: 02:51 BST, 2 July 2021 | Updated: 02:51 BST, 2 July 2021 Viewcomments Scott Morrison has outlined a four-phase transition to finally end the cycle of lockdowns and border closures. Each stage will be implemented based on the percentage of eligible Australians who have been vaccinated. Australia's weekly arrival cap has been cut in half to decrease the risk of Covid-19 outbreaks from hotel quarantine. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the change after a National Cabinet meeting on Friday morning as 12 million Australians endured lockdowns. International arrivals were capped at 6,370 a week but Labor premiers wanted this dramatically reduced. Scott Morrison is pictured leaving quarantine after two weeks in his house in Canberra following the G7 summit The Prime Minister is holding a national cabinet meeting today with Premiers including Dan Andrews (pictured) as they look to agree a plan for Australia's pandemic future New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian - whose state has taken half of all returned travellers - said she didn't agree but accepted the decision. 'I am disappointed that every State hasn't done its fair share but I appreciate and have to respect the decision of National Cabinet,' she said. 'I don't support the view that other Premiers have that this means mistakes aren't going to happen and we're not going to have outbreaks. That is still going to occur,' she warned. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk wanted the caps cut in half while Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews wanted the numbers cut by up to 80 per cent. 'We are at a pressure cooker moment,' Ms Palaszczuk told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday as the state's quarantine hotels filled up. Mr Andrews agreed, saying: 'We have it within our power to dramatically reduce the number of people who are coming back just for these next three or four months until we get a critical mass of people with a jab. 'It won't be easy to lock some people out. But locking some people out is much better than locking everybody down,' he added. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews on Wednesday said the caps should not be cut because Australians should be allowed to come home. Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said only six in 1,000 international arrivals had Covid-19. What were the weekly arrival caps before the cut in half? NSW: 3,010 QLD: 1,300 VIC: 1,000 SA: 530 WA: 530 NT: Federal repatriation flights to Howard Springs Advertisement The National Cabinet also focussed on the troubled national vaccine rollout and mixed messaging around the AstraZeneca jab. Mr Morrison on Monday said Australians under 40 could consult their GP about getting the abundant AstraZeneca vaccine. But Queensland's chief health officer Jeannette Young urged said they should wait for Pfizer because of a very small risk of blood clots. Australia's expert immunisation panel reiterated its advice that Pfizer was preferred for all people aged under 60. Thursday was a record day for vaccinations with more than 160,000 people receiving jabs nationwide. Almost eight per cent of Australian adults are now fully vaccinated, but the nation lags far behind all other comparable countries. Mr Morrison late on Thursday completed 14 days of quarantine at The Lodge in Canberra, after returning from the G7 summit in the UK, and headed to Parliament House to lead the meeting. The virtual meeting of state and territory leaders hosted by the PM will also discuss international passenger caps. Pictured: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility