Debt-ridden NT must be included in the effort to repatriate stranded Aussies – and benefit from it
THE NT is ideally positioned to be a saviour for Aussies stranded overseas amid the coronavirus pandemic and to give ourselves a boost at the same time, writes DENISE CAHILL.
Opinion
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- NT quarantine staffing resources too stretched for humanitarian effort, for now, but Howard Springs facility a good fit
- NT Government in discussions with Commonwealth about using Howard Springs for returning Aussies
- NT Government ‘open’ to taking in more overseas arrivals at the Howard Springs facility
- MP Luke Gosling blasts Australia’s international arrivals cap, says the NT should be used to bring home more Aussies stranded overseas
WHILE reluctant to call accepting international flights full of Aussies trying to get home a business opportunity, the debt-ridden NT government must be included and look after its own interests at the same time.
Most other states in Australia are accepting the arrivals, who go straight in to 14 days quarantine, with a cap on the number of people per day.
WA, which currently has three active cases of coronavirus, will accept 1025 international arrivals a day, South Australia 600, Queensland 1000 and NSW 2950.
The Northern Territory, with 0 active cases, has shown the process of allowing people across its borders is safe and effective.
It would mean more return on investment for the more than $3m that was spent getting the Howard Springs facility ready for quarantine.
While there is an element of compassion involved in this issue, the NT government must look after its own financial interests as well.
The international arrivals need to be charged the full cost of quarantine at Howard Springs – the government recently threw around the figure of $3300 – and this fee needs to be paid upfront or a payment plan determined on arrival, before these people enter Howard Springs.
Commercial airlines need to work with governments, including the Gunner government, to help get these people home.
But there’s no such thing as a free flight … or quarantine for that matter.
Take the Alice Springs family of five who have been separated since January with a mum and her three sons flying home via Adelaide where they will quarantine for two weeks.
As Northern Territory locals, returning home would be more convenient via Darwin.
It’s also been well documented that interstate travellers favour a Howard Springs-style quarantine set-up to hotel rooms with no balconies and no fresh air, so it goes without saying many interstate arrivals would prefer to touch Aussie soil again in Darwin over any other jurisdiction.
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The figures show a 14-day quarantine at Howard Springs does little to deter people from travelling from hot spots.
More than 1500 Victorians have entered the Howard Springs quarantine facility since the NT’s borders reopened on July 17.
There had been more than 2500 arrivals received at the Howard Springs quarantine facility since July 17.
Victorians made up 62 per cent of those in quarantine, 26 per cent were Territorians returning from a declared COVID-19 hot spot, 8 per cent were from NSW, 2 per cent were Queenslanders, 1 per cent from Western Australia, 0.5 per cent from South Australia, 0.2 per cent from Tasmania and 0.1 per cent from the ACT.
Done right, the Northern Territory could become the saviour for many stranded Aussies and use this opportunity to help people fall in love with the Territory.
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Strategically placed brochures on our world-class tourism and facilities, dining options and night-life in quarantine rooms could convince the arrivals to stick around in the NT longer or plan a future holiday up here.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the Howard Springs facility was currently holding about 1000 people in quarantine but had the capacity for 3000.
Denise Cahill is the Head of News at the NT News
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