Coronavirus: Tennis stars not filling traveller places, says Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison says 1200 tennis players and staff not taken sought-after quarantine places of Australians stranded overseas.

Men’s world No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures from his hotel balcony in Adelaide. Picture: AFP

Scott Morrison says the 1200 tennis players and staff allowed into the country for the Australian Open have not taken sought-after hotel quarantine places of Australians stranded overseas, amid a growing political controversy over the major sporting event.

Nine people associated with the tournament have tested positive to COVID-19, including one player, according to the Victorian government. Those infected arrived on three charter flights, including 72 players now in strict quarantine and not able to practise until the eve of opening week.

While some players have complained about lockdown, the lack of practice and the food, a storm has erupted over whether the Open should have gone ahead at all while Australians are stranded overseas, businesses are unable to bring in workers and Victorians in hotspots struggle to get home.

Farmers are furious with the Victorian government’s decision to bring in tennis players from high-risk coronavirus countries while failing to fly in Pacific seasonal workers to help fix a dire ­labour shortage.

Nationals leader Michael McCormack said “we’ve seen sports stars prioritised ahead of food production” as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who has noted his state needs up to 20,000 agricultural workers to pick fruit and vegetables, said he would have “more to say” about seasonal workers soon.

The Prime Minister said the nearly 40,000 Australians abroad trying to return were not missing out on hotel quarantine places because of the Australian Open, but he suggested Mr Andrews was accountable to Victorians stuck interstate who could not get home because of the New Year’s Eve border closure to NSW.

“No one is being prevented from coming home from overseas because of the Australian Open. That’s not happening,” Mr Morrison told 2GB radio. “When premiers make decisions about borders … then they’re accountable for those and explaining to those who can’t get back into Victoria how that all works and how they’ve made those decisions.”

Eight-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic bore the brunt of a public backlash after a letter he wrote to Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley became public on Monday.

The head of the new Professional Tennis Players Association, Djokovic made several requests that included the prospect of securing private homes to be used to quarantine his peers.

Mr Andrews and the state’s quarantine chief, Emma Cassar, firmly declined requests that included allowing players to leave quarantine early if they recorded a number of negative tests.

The ATP and WTA Tours, which officially represent players, are also lobbying Australian Open organisers to improve the lot of members amid disquiet.

After training sessions for those still able to practise were cancelled without explanation on Sunday, some players hit the courts for the first time in Melbourne on Monday. Others were again dis­appointed when their time to train came and went without them being able to leave their rooms.

Australian No 1 Alex de Minaur posted footage of him sitting at his door, tennis bag strapped to his back, awaiting the arrival of an ­escort who didn’t come.

Mr Andrews defended the decision to allow the Open to go ahead and the quarantine arrangements, saying Tennis Australia has trained and paid hotel quarantine staff for the event and those employees could later be rehired by his government to help bolster hotel quarantine capacity for stranded Aussies.

Mr McCormack said fruit growers needed help and were being ignored but would not go as far as his Victorian colleague Anne Webster in accusing Mr Andrews of “double standards” by allowing tennis stars in ahead of seasonal workers.

“I do find it disappointing that we’ve got stone fruit growers and other farmers urging, begging, imploring for government assistance for seasonal workers and they can’t get them,” Mr McCormack told The Australian.

“This is something the Victorian government is responsible for.”

Australian Industry Group Innes Willox said while the tennis would undoubtedly beneficial to Australia’s economy, there were other industries and people who needed attention.

“We do run the risk of putting all our attention on trying to run a tennis tournament and taking our eye off the ball of delivering for our broader economy,” he said.

“Thousands of people have been locked out of their state and away from their work and homes for weeks. Businesses are still having enormous trouble getting their staff around the country. Borders are still closed to many people. Our international borders remain closed. Parts of the economy, such as agriculture, cannot get the people they need to pick and process crops.”

National Farmers’ Federation chief executive Tony Mahar accused the Victorian government of dragging its feet on a plan for seasonal workers after Aspen Medical and the horticulture industry put forward a six-month proposal in October to quarantine thousands of people in Mildura.

“Other states have done it (brought in seasonal workers) but Victoria hasn’t, but they can still focus on sporting stars. It seems like there are a few questions unanswered,” Mr Mahar said.

“What we want to know is where farmers and rural communities sit in terms of priorities. It’s fair to say that farmers are watching what the Victorian government is doing. Ultimately if this is not addressed we will see shortages on supermarket shelves, which no one wants to see.”

Australian Fresh Produce Alliance chief executive Michael Rogers, representing 1000 fruit and vegetable growers, said Victoria’s approach to seasonal workers compared to athletes was “confusing”.

“If we can bring in 1200 tennis players (and staff and officials) from high COVID infection countries, why can’t we bring in 1200 Pacific workers from countries with low COVID rates?” he said.

“We just need a quarantine pathway.”

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry supported the Australian Open going ahead and said the return of major events would help the state’s economy but food security was also “intertwined with a strong and sustainable economy”.

“It is imperative that our agricultural producers have access to a workforce that enables them to harvest their crops to feed Australians and export to other nations,” ACCI acting chief executive Dugald Murray said.

“There are schemes and programs available that sought to prevent and address a shortage of agriculture workers but they are clearly not working to the satisfaction of farmers and all levels of government should pull together to establish a practical plan to address the issue.”

With a looming shortage of up to 26,000 harvest workers by March, Victorian Agriculture minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the Morrison government could make things easier and faster for industry by completing the “risk stratification” work national cabinet committed to. That could make Pacific Island countries green zones and allow workers to come here without quarantine.

Morrison government sources pointed out other states had brought in seasonal workers without the commonwealth telling them what public health risks Pacific countries posed.

“It’s important to note that bringing in workers from overseas isn’t going to be the silver bullet for harvest shortages,” Ms Thomas said. “We need to keep working to attract local jobseekers. We join industry in calling for the federal government to make changes to JobSeeker and its accommodation subsidies that would deliver real incentives for Victorian jobseekers to travel and take up harvest work.”

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Victoria’s harvest work was completed by 20 workers comprised of 3000 Pacific Islanders, 13,000 backpackers and 4000 locals.

Additional reporting: Adeshola Ore