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Bill reaches $29m for ‘paltry’ financial assistance for stranded Australians
The Australian government’s program to help stranded Australians in financial distress has provided $29 million worth of funds to 3900 people, despite nearly 5000 people being assessed as vulnerable.
The Financial Assistance Hardship Program was announced by Foreign Minister Marise Payne in early September as a “last resort” for Australians stranded overseas who had exhausted their own funds. It offers both grants and loans of up to $2000 for emergency living costs for a single person and $5000 for a family of four, as well as grants and loans to pay for airfares back to Australia.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Saturday the department had paid out $29 million to 3900 people so far.
The Howard Springs quarantine facility in Darwin.Credit: Louise Radcliffe-Smith
The news comes as the United Nations Human Rights Committee made an interim ruling that the Australian government must “facilitate and ensure” the prompt return of two Australians who are arguing that caps on travel are a breach of international law.
The case was brought by Free and Open Australia, a group advocating on behalf of Australians trapped overseas, and taken up by prominent barrister Geoffrey Robertson, QC.
The group claims that the Australian government has breached the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country”.
A spokesman for Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said the government is “confident its inward travel restrictions are consistent with Australia’s international legal obligations”.
The spokesman said the committee had not made any decision on the substance of the matter in dispute and it would be inappropriate for the government to comment further while the matter was still under consideration.
Labor’s spokesman for multicultural affairs Andrew Giles said stranded Australians shouldn’t have to take their own government to the UN just to get a chance to come home. He declined to comment on whether Australia was in breach of its international obligations but said the onus was on the government to let stranded Australians return home.
Documents obtained by The Sun-Herald under freedom of information laws reveal as of January 15, the government had paid $12.8 million in grants to stranded Australians and $4.6 million in loans that must be repaid within six months of the recipient returning to Australia. At the time it had approved applications from 2716 people.
A DFAT spokesperson said 34,400 Australians were currently registered as being overseas and wanting to return. Since January, the department has operated more than 28 repatriation flights and is planning further flights in the coming weeks for Australians in the UK, India, Europe and other countries. Most of these flights are landing at the quarantine facility at Howard Springs in Darwin.
The FOI documents show by January 15, 4340 Australians overseas had applied to DFAT for financial hardship assistance, which included 866 family groups and 1020 minors. When the program was announced, DFAT classified 3000 people as vulnerable because of medical or financial reasons; by January 15 it had grown to 4500. As of late March, DFAT said 4860 Australians overseas were considered vulnerable.
At the time, 603 applications were still in progress, while 875 applications had been withdrawn or were incomplete and 146 applications had been declined.
Lucy Morrell from StrandedAussies.com said the financial assistance was inadequate and was only available as a last resort.
“I can’t think of anyone I know who applied for the financial assistance because it’s so paltry and there are hoops to jump through to prove your destitution,” Ms Morrell said.
“One or two thousand dollars might feed and shelter you for a month or two but bumped flights go on far longer than that. It’s not enough to buy tickets or cover living expenses for very long.”
Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said if the government had delivered safe, federal quarantine, thousands of Australians overseas wouldn’t be forced to “rely on hand-outs and loans”.
“The Morrison Government is offering up more debt to Australians who have been left behind and are in dire straits,” Senator Wong said.
“These families have gone through all their savings, maxed out their credit cards on cancelled flights and now have to get by on government loans while they wait for Scott Morrison to take the action that will allow them to come home.”
Chani Wiessner, who is stranded in Cyprus, said she wanted to be able to access her superannuation to fund her living expenses.
“Why should I borrow money, when I don’t know how and when I will pay it back, when I have more than sufficient funds in my preserved super in Australia, that will allow me to survive another year abroad where I have zero financial support and health care entitlements?” Ms Wiessner said.
“Within 12 months, I should be able to secure employment again and will be fine. There are just no jobs here right now. Once COVID settles, that will change.”
Australians abroad could use the COVID-19 temporary access to super scheme last year, but they are not eligible for the regular provisions allowing access on financial hardship grounds. That requires applicants to demonstrate they have been receiving Commonwealth income support payments continuously for 26 weeks, but these benefits are not payable to people living overseas.