Pressure mounting for federal government to develop quarantine program

Fears are mounting for at least 10 locals who are still stranded overseas, amid renewed calls for discussions about reducing Australia’s intake of returning travellers.

Fears are mounting for at least 10 locals who are still stranded overseas, amid renewed calls for discussions about reducing Australia’s intake of returning travellers.

All international flights into Melbourne were banned on Friday as Victoria was plunged into tough Stage 4 restrictions following a hotel quarantine leak of the highly contagious UK strain of the virus.

The latest outbreak prompted Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to call for a “cold, hard discussion” about reducing the number of travellers returning to Australia from overseas.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack also weighed in on the issue, telling the ABC “there is room” for further discussion surrounding intake numbers.

Local federal Labor MPs say they have assisted upwards of 30 constituents to return home since coronavirus travel restrictions were first introduced in March last year.

Hector Luna (left) and Kym Bramley have been unable to come to Australia.

At least 10 Corangamite residents remain stuck overseas and the Geelong Advertiser understands some have missed the opportunity to say to goodbye to sick loved ones.

Geelong woman Kym Bramley, who is stranded in hard lockdown in Mexico, has called for the Federal Government to introduce a quarantine queue system to prioritise returns of Australians.

Corio MP and deputy opposition leader Richard Marles said the federal government was not doing enough get “anxious Australians home”.

“What (Ms Bramley’s) petition highlights is the growing frustration which Aussies are having right now in returning home. Scott Morrison has broken his promise to get stranded Aussies home by Christmas,” he said.

“Mr Morrison needs to listen to his own expert, the AMA and scientists, and establish safe, national quarantine.”

Australian humanitarian worker Ian Dawes was stuck overseas for six months after his flights home were repeatedly cancelled. He was mostly stuck in Iraq before travelling to Malta and finally making it home late in January. Picture: Alan Barber

Corangamite MP Libby Coker said she was aware of many constituents whose repatriation flights had been cancelled in excess of five times.

She said the current system left the 40,000 stranded Australians unsure of it or when they could return home.

“We are a year into this pandemic and the government has still not come up with a national plan for safe quarantine of incoming passengers,” she said.

“Without a plan, we don’t know how or when the 40,000 stranded Australians can return.”

Mr Andrews was last week lashed as “despicable” for his suggestion at reducing international intake numbers, which also put the Premier at odds with his federal colleagues, who have used the plight of stranded Australians overseas to attack Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s handling of the repatriation and hotel quarantine process.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson said Mr Andrews was attempting to “(deny) Australians access to their own country”.

“There are Australians who have been desperate to get back into the country, but have had flights cancelled all over the place. They have a right to come home.”

But Mr Andrews clarified on Saturday he was simply advocating for a “genuine discussion” over the best way to contain the UK strain.

“What I have said is that we should have a genuine discussion about how many people are coming back, the circumstances in which they are coming back, and can we make this safe?” he said on Saturday.

“I would think that the Commonwealth Government would surely want to be a partner in that, but I am not looking to handball the thing to somebody else.”

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A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said more than 460,000 Australians have been helped home since the Government recommended people should reconsider the need to travel abroad.

“Around 41,000 people are currently registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as being overseas and wanting to return. This number changes regularly according to people’s circumstances,” he said,

It’s understood DFAT has expanded its financial assistance program to make available further emergency funds for the most vulnerable Australian citizens overseas.

Geelong-based Senator Sarah Henderson said bringing Australians who have been stranded oversees home safely remained a top priority for the federal government.

She said her office has been supporting the return home of many residents who live in regional Victoria including a school student on an exchange program in Spain.

Originally published as Pressure mounting for federal government to develop quarantine program