The Coalition is facing grumbling discontent from its conservative flank over a decision to impose criminal penalties on people returning from India. Queensland LNP Senator Gerard Rennick is the latest to break ranks over the issue, telling Crikey he disagrees with the government’s travel ban.
“I don’t think we have an obligation to get people home right away, but we can’t stop them if they’re Australian citizens,” Rennick said. “It just sets a terrible precedent.”
He joins a growing list of conservative Coalition MPs to openly criticise the ban.
On Monday, Queensland LNP Senator Matt Canavan, best known for his coal enthusiasm, spoke out against the ban, saying the government should be helping not jailing Australians. NSW Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, from the party’s right flank, also expressed concern about the precedent set by the ban. Overnight, outgoing member for Dawson George Christensen, one of the most conservative MPs in Parliament, also came out against it.
Under the ban, anyone returning to Australia from India could face heavy fines or jail time of up to five years thanks to powers in the Biosecurity Act. The ban has been heavily criticised by human rights organisations and the United Nations. There is a feeling among many in the Indian community that it is motivated by racism.
It’s also copped widespread public anger, including from some surprising places. Far-right commentator Andrew Bolt said the ban “stinks of racism”. Former Australian test cricketer Michael Slater accused the Morrison government of having “blood on its hands”.
Morrison has repeatedly claimed the criminal sanctions won’t be used against anyone returning from India, suggesting Australian Border Force will handle their discretion “sensitively”.
All up, there are now at least eight Coalition MPs who’ve raised concerns about criminalising people returning from India — Liberal moderates such as Fiona Martin and Dave Sharma have also made their discomfort known. There’s also a fair bit of opposition on the crossbench. Nearly the entire lower house crossbench (Craig Kelly excluded) wrote to Morrison asking him to remove the ban. They were joined by independent Rex Patrick and Centre Alliance’s Stirling Griff in the Senate.
Do you think the India travel ban is racist? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say section.
The government spin today: “It is about case load. That’s the important point to understand. What we have seen is, of course, one in eight – more than one in eight – passengers on the most recent flights were testing positive. That’s a level beyond anything that we had seen before.
Our job is to protect Australia against a third wave, our job is to protect our health system. So we have to manage the balance and the case load … which is precisely why we took the difficult temporary measures.”
It became clear by mid-2020 that COVID was not going away soon. Stopgap quarantine measures trying to bottle up cases in hotels never designed for the purpose should have been phased out quickly in favour of open facilities built quickly from mining camp-type demountables. Such facilities could have been, and still could be, built quickly near the mainland capital cities. It is past time for the federal government to stop refusing to take up its responsibility. The states can run them, that’s where the competence is, but the responsibility for providing the sites and financing the construction and operation of the centres should be entirely on the Commonwealth.
I doubt whether the decision was based on race. The decision appears to be a panicked response to a situation bought about by a quarantine system that is not capable of handling high numbers of infected people. An appalling quarantine situation bought about by lack of forward planning and a reprehensible decision that would leave all Australians feeling very vulnerable as far as the Federal Government is concerned.
Did he do the same for any white country when their figures were as high?
The quarantine system that we had in March 2020 was pretty good by world standards at the time. From a risk management perspective it provided a good level of protection from known risks.
It is only in the past few months that we have learnt that this virus is transmitted primarily through the air and only rarely by touch. (Remember fomites? We don’t. hear about them at all now).
Ultimately a good system depends on politics, not infrastructure. If we ban Australian citizens from returning to Australia but allow in non-Australian film stars, surfers, students and tennis players there will be circumstances where the political backlash reaches uncomfortable levels.
The extent to which plant and animal material is imported illegally (mainly in personal luggage) is a disaster waiting to happen. THAT, to me, is a truly “appalling quarantine situation” that is ignored because COVID-19 is getting almost all the attention.
Keith, many scientists alluded to “airborne risk” as far back as mid-2020 and earlier
I’m no scientist, or doctor, or even in the medical profession – but having lived a long life of illness – have ALWAYS known the dangers/risks of airborne transmission for any type of Virus, including the Common cold.
The Australian government also knew, having been advised by said Scientists, but chose to ignore the facts, as they constantly do, and instead insist on using Hotels as Quarantine Facilities.
In my younger days, when in hospital, they ALL had balconies for the sick to sit outside in fresh air, and windows that opened from the actual Wards.
In fact, only 30 years ago, in one hospital where I was being treated for pneumonia, I well remember being bundled up with blankets in the middle of winter and being seated on a balcony ( because fresh air was better than breathing in the same, sick air as everybody else – even for a half hour).
Of course, going back longer, maybe 55 years, I remember my father being treated for pneumonia in Canberra Hospital, in a complete Isolation Ward, where only 1 visitor (no children) had to “gown and mask up” to visit him for a mere ten minutes.
As I see it, for whatever reason, when ridiculous changes were made to seal up windows, doors, balconies in hospitals and use Air conditioning, which further spreads diseases like Legionnaires’ if not adequately cleaned, this itself, has caused the spread of more illnesses than ever before.
Similarly, Hotels began doing the same thing – ensuring that nobody could get fresh air unless they left the premises, basically!
On the rare occasions I’ve been fortunate enough to stay in a City hotel in the past, I’ve only done so if the place actually had a room with a balcony- and they are few and far between, I can tell you.
That the Commonwealth and State governments and their respective Health Departments play dumb on the issue of airborne transmission, is utterly contemptible.
That they also, ALL had YEARS to plan their respective responses to a Pandemic of this magnitude, as per WHO Guidelines, and prepare/build necessary Quarantine Facilities – with balconies, courtyards, gardens et cetera, and Medical teams – but, DID NOT, is yet another disgrace.
Believe me, I’ve done my research and I could go on and on and on. The fact remains, the response from ALL levels of government, regarding their handling of this Pandemic from December 2019 through until now is outrageously shameful!
Then Howard had the cheek to claim that this is not the time for (libertarian) ideology, as opposed to the need for Keynesian drops of money for various Covid; do not recall the IPA commenting on how Covid should be dealt with?
It makes the radical right libertarian demands in the UK, US and Australia for austerity, cuts in spending, cuts in taxes, cuts in public sector etc. under the guise of US style ‘freedom and liberty’, as not supported by any grounded theory or evidence.
What follows then is Labor governments then having to play catch up on public under investment (vs. JIT) by the LNP.
Good news for Labor is that during Covid an increasing number of Australians approve of the public service and the need for support.
In Spain a mainstream newspaper, El Pais English had an article in October 2020 ‘A room, a bar and a classroom: how the coronavirus is spread through the air’ based upon previous research; guess the LNP does not like scientific research versus catering to ideology and policy of the day….
The federally mandated (Customs Act 1901) quarantine station (area of 277Ha/680acres) at North Head (Sydney) worked pretty well in 1920 – dozens of buildings, depending on the disease, plenty of fresh sea air and views to die for… so to speak.
A century later we rely on jerry built hotels, sub-sub-sub contracted security guards and private enterprise with its well known regard for the bottom line to protect the community.
How did anyone with a functioning brain (which necessarily excludes pollies & their spads) expect that to go well?
It was typical Scotty – a few cricketers bypassed the flights ban by going through Doha, so he lashed out to get back at them. I don’t think he thought it through, but then I don’t think he thinks anything through.
Yeah, Nah. It’s based on indians being foreigners. USA, UK, all good.
Of course Morrispin sent Hunt out to do the dirty work while he stood back with his usual smirk, only more evil looking, in place. Now we know why, so he’d be able to soft pedal it when the hit the fan.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, I guess it’s a duck – or more correctly, a racist policy. But, a distraction from a failed vaccination programme is needed, and as always they trot out a ‘keep Australians safe’ bit of fluff to take one’s eye off yet another poor judgement by the master. Take a bow, SmoCo, you’ve done it again.
I’m still recovering from the shock of seeing Matt Canavan comment on a subject that isn’t coal related.
This bloke has zero credibility.
Zilch.
Same with Christensen.
Turning this imbroglio into a polemic about race is playing into the government’s hands.
Be warned.
I suspect George spoke out because he’s worried that they might also decide to ban people wanting to return from the Philippines.
“Addressing
Donor’s
Absolute
Nationalist
Interests”? … (Caymans aside)