Coronavirus Australia: Victoria counting costs of hotel quarantine
Hotel quarantine has cost Victoria more than $500m, and it’s unclear when international flights will resume.
Hotel quarantine has cost the Victorian government more than $500m, with it remaining unclear when international flights into the state will resume.
The government’s mid-year financial report tabled on Friday also revealed the economic pain inflicted during the second wave added up to an operating deficit of $10.1bn in the six months to December.
Included in the deficit increase is the cost of running the revamped hotel quarantine program, with the government in September entering into contracts worth an estimated $377m with transport, health and hotel providers.
Combined with the $195m cost of the disastrous first hotel quarantine that sparked Victoria’s second wave, the government has spent $572m on the program since it began on March 29.
The state stopped accepting returned international travellers on February 14 after an infection control breach at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport forced the state into a five-day snap lockdown.
Opposition spokesman for Police and Community Safety David Southwick said the Andrews Labor government seemed incapable of running hotel quarantine. “Over half a billion dollars later and all Victorians have to show is two lockdowns, more than 800 deaths, 250,000 jobs lost and thousands of Victorians still stranded overseas with no way to come home.”
Before the Holiday Inn outbreak, the Victorian government committed to accepting 1310 returned travellers each week. The hotels are currently housing two returned travellers, one frontline worker and 81 aircrew members.
Jobs Minister Martin Pakula said he had no updates on when international flights into Victoria would resume but said it was not possible to turn a complex program on and off again.
“I don’t think the fact that this system has been paused for a brief period of time is an argument for just simply disassembling the entire system,” he said. “And then having to reassemble it in a way that will be incredibly time-consuming and would simply delay our ability to bring people back into the state.”
About 10,000 Victorians remain stranded overseas.
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