Chief Minister Michael Gunner says the Northern Territory is "much more likely" to add more COVID-19 hotspots and ban more Australians from travelling to the NT than to remove any current declared hotspot areas.
"We're much more likely to add spots than remove them, we've got an indefinite ban on Victoria and Sydney keeps bubbling away to the point where I can't give you a date where that will ever lift," he said.
Mr Gunner, who faces an election on August 22 and has been campaigning on his Government's handling of coronavirus, said the NT was planning to maintain border controls for at least 18 months.
"My advice to every Territorian is if you can stay in the Territory. You're safe here, don't go," he said.
"If you can, cancel your Christmas holiday plans and stay here in the Northern Territory.
"We're working towards at least an 18-month window from today towards the end of next year of how we are resourcing our borders."
The Territory opened its borders on July 17, allowing most Australians to travel freely through the NT upon their arrival.
But anyone who enters the NT from a coronavirus hotspot — which includes the state of Victoria and Greater Sydney — must undergo two weeks of supervised quarantine upon their arrival at a personal cost of $2,500.
"At the moment it's indefinite [hotspot status] to Victoria. I've got no idea when Victoria will ever get it under control," Mr Gunner said.
Police and environmental health workers are stationed at airports and border crossings and new arrivals need to fill in a form as they enter.
Anyone who is caught lying on these forms can face up to three years in jail, Mr Gunner has warned.
"Territorians first — this is what I think I need to do to make sure some of the most vulnerable people in the world stay safe," the Chief Minister said.
"If you're as safe as us, you're welcome here, if not sorry but we're closed to you."
Close NT off to NSW: Terry Mills
At a press conference on Tuesday Territory Alliance leader Terry Mills accused the NT Government of inconsistencies in its coronavirus border policies, saying it was "hard to follow the logic of the Chief Minister".
Mr Mills called on Mr Gunner to immediately declare all of NSW a coronavirus hotspot and effectively shut off travel from the state.
NSW recorded 22 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, its highest daily number of infections in almost four months.
"Step up and close the borders with NSW so we have clarity and a coherent message from the Chief Minister, who is simply playing games and politicising this and confusing people," Mr Mills said.
"I'll say it again, the border to NSW needs to be closed. NSW has a very similar trajectory to Victoria.
Queensland, Tasmania, SA, WA have already shut their borders to people from NSW.
Mr Mills also asked Mr Gunner to disclose what PPE stocks the Government had and to increase testing.
"I also call upon the Chief Minister to tell us something sensible and useful," Mr Mills said.
"Tell us about the PPE, what levels do we have in the Northern Territory? That's something we would like to know.
"We would also like the Chief Minister to increase the levels of testing. They are low in the Territory and they need to be higher."
Yesterday, Northern Territory politicians clashed over the Government's handling of the pandemic during an election debate on commercial radio, with the CLP accusing Mr Gunner of scaremongering ahead of next weekend's election.
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