Coronavirus: International students ‘victims of double standards’

Australia’s $40bn international student sector is close to raising the white flag at the increasingly bleak prospect of overseas ­students returning in time for the start of term.

International Education Association of Australia chief executive officer Phil Honeywood. Picture: Aaron Francis

Australia’s $40bn international student sector is close to raising the white flag at the increasingly bleak prospect of overseas ­students returning in time for the start of term.

The sector says it is at the centre of a frustrating game of “pass the parcel” between states fearful of a public backlash over perceived COVID-19 infection risks and a federal government that does not want to be seen to be prioritising international student ­arrivals ahead of returning Australians.

And it fears that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ statement that overseas students were unlikely to be back in his state this year will mean other premiers may baulk at the risk of a public backlash.

International Education Association of Australia chief executive officer Phil Honeywood said there was a double standard with Victoria and others “moving heaven and earth for tennis players, seasonal fruit pickers and Hollywood actors to come here”.

“Where is the equity in telling a fourth-year medical or dentistry student that they are not allowed to come to Australia to complete the final year of their degree,” Mr Honeywood said.

The only Australian jurisdiction to have taken overseas students is the Northern Territory, which accepted 63 before Christmas — all of whom have completed quarantine and are set to resume their studies.

South Australia was scheduled to be the first state to oversee a pilot program of 300 students ­arriving via Singapore to study at Adelaide’s three universities.

While the Marshall government says it remains committed to the scheme, it was delayed last year after an outbreak linked to a pizza shop triggered a statewide lockdown, and there are fears it will not be up in time for students to arrive and complete quarantine before the first semester.

The Australian understands the state’s universities do not have confirmation on a potential start date for the program, and all are increasingly resigned to having no international students when the academic year begins next month.

Industry fears are compounded by the Morrison government’s insistence that Australian expats must be given priority over international students in terms of ­accessing flights.

As a result, Mr Honeywood said the international student sector had “no idea” what was happening and was worried that 2021 would be a write-off. “With the states driving quarantine and the feds controlling border force we have had this game of pass-the-parcel going on and are now caught between a rock and a hard place,” he said.

“Semester one is our biggest intake and clearly it has pretty much been and gone.

The situation was incredibly frustrating because other countries such as Britain and Canada were opening their borders to international students, and New Zealand was taking 1000.

“The way things are going we are very fearful that we won’t be able to start the year at all,” Mr Honeywood said.

A South Australian government spokesman said the state ­remained committed to the pilot program but could not say when it would begin.