Coronavirus: Howard Springs quarantine site could be set aside for India travellers only
Howard Springs would be used exclusively to quarantine travellers from India under an overhaul being considered by the federal government.
Howard Springs would be used exclusively to quarantine returned travellers from India under an overhaul of travel arrangements being considered by the federal government.
Another option under consideration is using flights carrying aid from Australia to help ferry stranded citizens and residents back after the travel ban is lifted.
The proposals will be discussed amid the first legal action against the commonwealth’s use of emergency powers, which prohibit Australians from returning if they have been in India any time in the past fortnight, with the threat of fines and prison sentences for breaches.
About 9000 Australians are stuck in India, 900 of whom are considered vulnerable. The country had more than 350,000 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, nearly half of the world’s total.
Melbourne man Gary Newman, 73, who is stranded in Bangalore, filed legal action against the emergency determination at the Federal Court on Wednesday, alleging Health Minister Greg Hunt improperly exercised his powers under the Biosecurity Act.
Mr Newman also contends the ban is an over-reaction to the public health risk in circumstances where less intrusive measures were available, and that it is unconstitutional. The government expects the travel ban, put in place on April 27 as the pandemic swept India, to be lifted on May 15 or soon after when the number of active cases at Howard Springs falls below five.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke told The Australian that the Northern Territory quarantine facility could “be used holistically for India”.
“We want to keep everyone there so we can maintain and manage that, to keep the numbers (of cases) under control,” he said.
A final decision on setting aside Howard Springs for travellers from India has yet to be made. But advice received by the government suggests repatriation is the preferred course of action ahead of attempting to vaccinate Australians in India. While some Indian community leaders and health experts want the government to vaccinate those stuck in the country, Mr Hawke said it would “send an odd message” to only immunise Australians. “They’re in the midst of the worst of this crisis. It’s probably not a conversation for now,” he said.
Howard Springs can accommodate up to 850 travellers per fortnight, but that is set to expand to about 2000 if the federal and Northern Territory governments can source an extra 400 workers. Despite this, there are just 254 repatriated Australians currently at the centre. Four US marines who have tested positive are also staying at Howard Springs.
There were 35 active COVID-19 cases at the facility on Wednesday — 13.5 per cent of the total number of occupants, well above the 2 per cent threshold set by Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly and his state counterparts.
The government expects the number of positive cases will drop to between zero and five by May 14, after which time the flight ban will be lifted.
Mr Hawke said the biggest hurdle to expanding Howard Springs was finding the workforce, with commonwealth staff and the military already “pretty fully deployed”. He said both governments would have to keep hiring extra people.
The government has already announced travellers returning from India after the ban is lifted will have to test negative twice before being allowed to fly home. Cabinet’s national security committee will meet on Thursday to consider the logistics of the bolstered testing regime.
The government’s first flight of humanitarian supplies to India was on its way home on Wednesday without passengers.
But Mr Hawke did not rule out using future flights for repatriation and said it would “make a lot of sense” once the ban was lifted.
Mr Hawke met with members of the Indian diaspora on Wednesday in a bid to stem the backlash over the flight ban and the use of the emergency powers.
Scott Morrison on Wednesday said he was “not at all” concerned about damage to Australia’s diplomatic relationship with India, adding the ban was “already working” in reducing the number of active cases in the quarantine system.
“We’ve got a bit more distance to travel there, but the pause is working, and that means the pause will enable us to get Australian citizens and residents and their immediate families back to Australia under those repatriation flights,” the Prime Minister said. “Had we not done the pause, we would have been eroding our capability to do that over the medium to longer term.
“This was a necessary step to ensure that we could help more Australian citizens and residents get home and … bring them home safely in a way that did not risk a third wave here.”
The Federal Court will expedite Mr Newman’s lawsuit, while Cricket Australia said it was working on arrangements to repatriate 38 players and staff from India using a third country, most likely the Maldives or Sri Lanka.
Anthony Albanese said he supported restrictions on commercial flights but the government should have acted sooner to get Australians home, including by using the air force.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: OLIVIA CAISLEY
More Coverage
New hate speech laws to address growing anti-Semitism
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus has introduced amendments to Labor's hate speech legislation to address the 'scourge' of anti-Semitism, after the PM failed to mention the issue during his partyroom speech.
‘National apology needed on anti-Semitism’
Former health minister Greg Hunt will call on the Albanese government to make a national parliamentary apology to Australia’s Jewish population for the rise of anti-Semitism.