4 years ago
Australian Border Restrictions, Stranded Australians
SENATOR KRISTINA KENEALLY
KRISTINA KENEALLY, DEPUTY LABOR LEADER IN THE SENATE AND SHADOW MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: Peter Dutton’s double standard was on full display today. Peter Dutton has spent the best part of the week pretending that he cares about a family in grief separated by the Queensland-New South Wales border. But why doesn't Peter Dutton care about the families who are suffering because they're separated by the border that he's in control of - our international borders. Let me tell you about Astrid Magenau. Astrid promised her dying father that she would be by his side in Germany when he succumbed to stage four melanoma ravaging his brain and his abdomen. But it was a promise that Astrid will live the rest of her life knowing that she failed to keep it.
She couldn't honour that promise to her dying father because of the blanket travel bans the Australian Government put in place. They robbed her of the final opportunity to say goodbye. And making matters worse, right now, Astrid’s father's funeral is being delayed because Peter Dutton’s department, the Australian Border Force, will not give her the permission that she needs to travel.
Let me tell you about Grant Cooper.
Grant Cooper got a phone call telling him that his brother Burnie had fallen gravely ill and was in a coma in New Zealand. What should have been a straightforward trip across the Tasman to say goodbye became a journey of frustration and utter despair.
Grant couldn't get permission from Peter Dutton’s Australian Border Force to go and say goodbye to his dying brother.
Grant was actually so frustrated with the application process that that he sent five or six emails to Minister Dutton directly and they were ignored. Grant said to Peter Dutton: ‘the damage you've done to me is irreparable. It can never be repaired. It is something I will never forget’.
What doesn't Peter Dutton care about is families like Astrid’s and Grant’s. Why doesn't he care about their grief over their dying relatives? At our international borders, Peter Dutton has two sets of rules in place. At our international border. Peter Dutton has two sets of rules in place: special privilege for business people and mates like Tony Abbott, but a harsh set of measures for Australians in grief like Astrid and Grant. Tony Abbott got an express pass out of the country when he was offered a job with the United Kingdom government. Sydney businessmen, Jost Stollmann got approval from the Australian Border Force to go to Greece and pick up his new yacht.
But Astrid Magenau never got to say goodbye to her dying father. Grant Cooper never got to hold his brother's hand as he left this earth. A chance for a goodbye hug or kiss - a moment shared in the last moments of life were denied to these Australian families, because Peter Dutton just has these two sets of rules: one for his special mates and harsh measures for the rest of us.
While we're at it, Peter Dutton should be doing something about the 25 000 Australians who are currently stranded overseas. They want to come home in the middle of a global pandemic and they cannot. They cannot because Scott Morrison announced a cap on international arrivals nine weeks ago. They are getting price-gouged by airlines. They are unable to come into their home country because the Australian Government isn't letting them in. Now, I have to say, if I were the Minister for Home Affairs today, my number one job would be ensuring that Australian citizens who are stranded overseas and a deadly pandemic would be able to come home to their home country. And particularly in this circumstance, where it's Peter Dutton’s Government, that have the cap on international arrivals in place. It is his own government that are denying these people this opportunity.
Let me tell you, about a family stuck in Vancouver. Claire and Andrew Burles, with their one year old son Chester, they're from Alan Tudge’s electorate in Victoria. They're stranded there in Vancouver because of COVID-19. They've lost their jobs. They've had to give up the lease on their house and they're running out of money. When they contacted the Australian High Commission because they couldn't get home, they couldn't get on a flight, they were blocked by the international cap on arrivals. You know what advice they were given by the Australian High Commission? They were given a list of homeless shelters. A list of homeless shelters. They have a one year old child. Is this what we are coming to Australia - that we leave Australians behind? We leave them stranded overseas. We leave them to the mercy of other countries’ charity and welfare systems. These are our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters, our grandchildren. Are we are just going to leave them behind in the middle of a global pandemic? Come on Peter Dutton. He said today on Insiders that he would double the cap on international rivals if he could. Well he can!. He is the Minister for Home Affairs. I have news for you Minister Dutton. You are in charge of international borders. You are in charge of quarantine arrangements. That's what the Constitution says. Do your job! Go to the so-called National Cabinet that the Prime Minister has put together and do your job. You brought people home from Wuhan, you brought people home from the Diamond Princess and you put them in federal quarantine facilities. Why aren't you doing it now?
If Peter Dutton wants to keep playing at being the Opposition Leader in Queensland, he can go ahead and do it. He can go ahead and try and challenge Deb Frecklington for the job. But if he's going to stay Minister for Home Affairs, then he should do his job. He should start today. He should stop leaving stranded Australians behind. He should stop separating Australians from their dying loved ones and he should ensure that there is a plan in place to get the stranded Australians home. Happy to take any questions.
JOURNALIST: Australia is accepting 4000 international arrivals each week. How many should Australia be accepting?
KENEALLY: Well, first of all, we are not accepting 4000 international arrivals a week. We haven't been meeting that capacity and there are several numbers at play here. One, there is the weekly cap of 4000. Two, there are only four airports that are right now taking international flights and they have individual caps on them. And three, then there are individual caps on airplanes - only 30 passengers per plane. Now, it is within the wit of the Commonwealth Government to figure out how to get these 25 000 stranded Australians home. We have 13 airports in Australia that can take international passengers, why aren't we using any of them? Canberra, which is an airport that is closed one day a week now, why not reopen that and use some of the hotels in Canberra for quarantine facilities? Darwin, where we have a federally run quarantine facility that's not being used currently. The Gold Coast, which certainly has capacity both in terms of the airport, as well as hotels to manage quarantine arrivals. It is within the capacity of the Commonwealth Government, which control our international borders and quarantine to figure this out. Is the Minister a Minister or a mouse? Is he going to do his job or not?
JOURNALIST: The number of arrivals is capped because of the states as well. Are you talking to Labor state premiers to try to convince them to lift caps?
KENEALLY: We have a Federal Government, that under the constitution is responsible for international borders. They are responsible for quarantine under the Constitution. They have already done this during the pandemic. They've brought people home and quarantined them. I missed the memo where we decided to hand over quarantine and border responsibilities to state governments. But that's what this Federal Government does, doesn't it? It just points fingers at everyone else. It's always someone else to blame. They take no responsibility and they duck and they weave. When we have stranded Australians overseas, who are desperate to come home, who are at risk of homelessness, who are risk of illness, who are separated from their loved ones back here in Australia - that's not a state government's job to sort out. It's the Federal Government's job to sort out.
JOURNALIST: Have you had any conversations though with state Labor premiers about that?
KENEALLY: This is a responsibility of the Commonwealth Government. As Shadow Minister for Home Affairs. my focus is on what Commonwealth Governments do. As the Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton should be doing his job. We have seen him all week in a partisan play attacking Anastasia Palaszczuk. Not a peep out of him about what's going on in Liberal states that have exactly the same border closure policies as Queensland. Haven't heard him criticise Steven Marshall. Haven't heard him criticise Peter Goodwin in Tasmania. Peter Dutton should stop playing partisan state politics. We don't have time for this. We're in the middle of a global pandemic. He should be doing his job. And his number one job right now as Minister for Home Affairs should developing a plan to get these stranded Australians home. 25,000 Australians around the globe in places like the United Kingdom, India, Lebanon and the Philippines. Lebanon for heaven's sakes! The Commonwealth has already given $5 million to Lebanon, they've already recognised the humanitarian disaster, but they're leaving Australians behind in that country. It is within the wit of the Commonwealth Government to resolve this. Send some charter planes out – we’ve got two grounded international airlines. Use the federal quarantine facilities that we have in place. The Prime Minister convened a so-called National Cabinet - go there with a plan. None of this is happening under Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton.
JOURNALIST: On that note about where they should quarantine – the Government should take more control – should the Commonwealth take control of the quarantine arrangements for international arrivals?
KENEALLY: Well, quarantine is a Federal Government responsibility. Let me say this again. quarantine is a Federal Government responsibility. The international borders are a Federal Government responsibility. We have a Prime Minister who's got a plaque to himself in his office, a trophy of boats saying ‘I stopped these’. Soon he's going to have to have a photo array of all the 25 000 stranded Australians up in his office saying ‘I stopped these people as well.’ Come on - these are our fellow Australians. Right now there are families separated by this international hard border closure and by the cap on international arrivals. They've been price gouged by airlines. And when they call on their Federal Government for help, as it says in the front of their passport, that they are entitled to do, what do they get told? Go to a charity to get some food. Go check out the homeless shelters in Vancouver. We can’t help you. Come on. Isn't there any more Australian of a value than don't leave your mates behind?
JOURNALIST: Do you think Christmas Island should be used for quarantine arrivals?
KENEALLY: Christmas Island has already been used for quarantine arrivals. It's already been used in this global pandemic. The Commonwealth have used their facilities on Christmas Island. They have used their facilities in the Northern Territory. I'd also point out there's a lot of empty hotels around Australia. The Commonwealth have the capacity here. The Commonwealth should have the leadership here. But as like so many things with this Prime Minister, he's big on an announcement - announced a National Cabinet but it's falling apart and it's not working. He's always there for the headline – he’s rarely there for the follow through.
JOURNALIST: Brett from SBS – thank you. Just on the international cap – that was put in place because the states identified what they can comfortably cope with. Isn't the bigger issue here the fact that the testing and tracing capabilities of the states is limiting international arrivals, not the will of the Federal Government?
KENEALLY: Not at all. When it comes to testing and tracing, first of all just listen to Greg Hunt – ‘we lead the world’. I’ll leave him to explain that. But secondly, what would really help is if we had a tracing app that worked. The COVIDsafe app does not work. Let's just call a spade a shovel here. I mean, the NSW Opal Card does a better job at tracing Coronavirus cases than the COVIDsafe app. But, where we have capacity, and we do in places like Canberra, Darwin and on the Gold Coast, where we have the capacity with both airports and hotels. And surely if this Commonwealth Government stumped up some resources, ADF support perhaps could assist. They are responsible for borders. They are responsible for quarantine and they should put a plan in place to ensure that Australians are not stranded overseas homeless and without a valid visa in some of these countries who are also subject to a raging coronavirus infection rates. They should get these people home and they should be doing it now.
JOURNALIST: In terms of the legal standing of those Australians? Do you believe that they're being denied their birthright and their constitutional right to return home to Australia? And does that expose the Federal Government legally?
KENEALLY: Well, this is something legal scholars are currently discussing. But the right of a citizen is the right to return to your home country. And the only thing that is stopping people from being able to return to their home country, Australia, right now is this cap on international arrivals. Scott Morrison announced it. It was a decision of his National Cabinet. Now, there is a problem here and it's up to Scott Morrison and his Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to fix it.
JOURNALIST: And just one final question, thanks for your patience. There's still two Australians missing at sea off the Japanese coast. The families have been pleading with the Government to help and they haven't really been given a clear indication from the Government as to even if that search is continuing. What's your message to the Federal Government? And are they doing enough to support those families?
KENEALLY: This is incredibly distressing story. Two Australians, it would appear, are lost at sea off the coast of Japan. The Australian Government has within it the resources and the expertise to not only be engaged but to lead these types of search and rescue missions. The Australian Government should be doing more. The Australian Government should be actively engaged with the government of Japan in helping lead the search for these missing Australians and the Australian Government should be doing everything it can to support the families of these missing Australians during this time.
All right, thanks, everyone.
ENDS
She couldn't honour that promise to her dying father because of the blanket travel bans the Australian Government put in place. They robbed her of the final opportunity to say goodbye. And making matters worse, right now, Astrid’s father's funeral is being delayed because Peter Dutton’s department, the Australian Border Force, will not give her the permission that she needs to travel.
Let me tell you about Grant Cooper.
Grant Cooper got a phone call telling him that his brother Burnie had fallen gravely ill and was in a coma in New Zealand. What should have been a straightforward trip across the Tasman to say goodbye became a journey of frustration and utter despair.
Grant couldn't get permission from Peter Dutton’s Australian Border Force to go and say goodbye to his dying brother.
Grant was actually so frustrated with the application process that that he sent five or six emails to Minister Dutton directly and they were ignored. Grant said to Peter Dutton: ‘the damage you've done to me is irreparable. It can never be repaired. It is something I will never forget’.
What doesn't Peter Dutton care about is families like Astrid’s and Grant’s. Why doesn't he care about their grief over their dying relatives? At our international borders, Peter Dutton has two sets of rules in place. At our international border. Peter Dutton has two sets of rules in place: special privilege for business people and mates like Tony Abbott, but a harsh set of measures for Australians in grief like Astrid and Grant. Tony Abbott got an express pass out of the country when he was offered a job with the United Kingdom government. Sydney businessmen, Jost Stollmann got approval from the Australian Border Force to go to Greece and pick up his new yacht.
But Astrid Magenau never got to say goodbye to her dying father. Grant Cooper never got to hold his brother's hand as he left this earth. A chance for a goodbye hug or kiss - a moment shared in the last moments of life were denied to these Australian families, because Peter Dutton just has these two sets of rules: one for his special mates and harsh measures for the rest of us.
While we're at it, Peter Dutton should be doing something about the 25 000 Australians who are currently stranded overseas. They want to come home in the middle of a global pandemic and they cannot. They cannot because Scott Morrison announced a cap on international arrivals nine weeks ago. They are getting price-gouged by airlines. They are unable to come into their home country because the Australian Government isn't letting them in. Now, I have to say, if I were the Minister for Home Affairs today, my number one job would be ensuring that Australian citizens who are stranded overseas and a deadly pandemic would be able to come home to their home country. And particularly in this circumstance, where it's Peter Dutton’s Government, that have the cap on international arrivals in place. It is his own government that are denying these people this opportunity.
Let me tell you, about a family stuck in Vancouver. Claire and Andrew Burles, with their one year old son Chester, they're from Alan Tudge’s electorate in Victoria. They're stranded there in Vancouver because of COVID-19. They've lost their jobs. They've had to give up the lease on their house and they're running out of money. When they contacted the Australian High Commission because they couldn't get home, they couldn't get on a flight, they were blocked by the international cap on arrivals. You know what advice they were given by the Australian High Commission? They were given a list of homeless shelters. A list of homeless shelters. They have a one year old child. Is this what we are coming to Australia - that we leave Australians behind? We leave them stranded overseas. We leave them to the mercy of other countries’ charity and welfare systems. These are our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters, our grandchildren. Are we are just going to leave them behind in the middle of a global pandemic? Come on Peter Dutton. He said today on Insiders that he would double the cap on international rivals if he could. Well he can!. He is the Minister for Home Affairs. I have news for you Minister Dutton. You are in charge of international borders. You are in charge of quarantine arrangements. That's what the Constitution says. Do your job! Go to the so-called National Cabinet that the Prime Minister has put together and do your job. You brought people home from Wuhan, you brought people home from the Diamond Princess and you put them in federal quarantine facilities. Why aren't you doing it now?
If Peter Dutton wants to keep playing at being the Opposition Leader in Queensland, he can go ahead and do it. He can go ahead and try and challenge Deb Frecklington for the job. But if he's going to stay Minister for Home Affairs, then he should do his job. He should start today. He should stop leaving stranded Australians behind. He should stop separating Australians from their dying loved ones and he should ensure that there is a plan in place to get the stranded Australians home. Happy to take any questions.
JOURNALIST: Australia is accepting 4000 international arrivals each week. How many should Australia be accepting?
KENEALLY: Well, first of all, we are not accepting 4000 international arrivals a week. We haven't been meeting that capacity and there are several numbers at play here. One, there is the weekly cap of 4000. Two, there are only four airports that are right now taking international flights and they have individual caps on them. And three, then there are individual caps on airplanes - only 30 passengers per plane. Now, it is within the wit of the Commonwealth Government to figure out how to get these 25 000 stranded Australians home. We have 13 airports in Australia that can take international passengers, why aren't we using any of them? Canberra, which is an airport that is closed one day a week now, why not reopen that and use some of the hotels in Canberra for quarantine facilities? Darwin, where we have a federally run quarantine facility that's not being used currently. The Gold Coast, which certainly has capacity both in terms of the airport, as well as hotels to manage quarantine arrivals. It is within the capacity of the Commonwealth Government, which control our international borders and quarantine to figure this out. Is the Minister a Minister or a mouse? Is he going to do his job or not?
JOURNALIST: The number of arrivals is capped because of the states as well. Are you talking to Labor state premiers to try to convince them to lift caps?
KENEALLY: We have a Federal Government, that under the constitution is responsible for international borders. They are responsible for quarantine under the Constitution. They have already done this during the pandemic. They've brought people home and quarantined them. I missed the memo where we decided to hand over quarantine and border responsibilities to state governments. But that's what this Federal Government does, doesn't it? It just points fingers at everyone else. It's always someone else to blame. They take no responsibility and they duck and they weave. When we have stranded Australians overseas, who are desperate to come home, who are at risk of homelessness, who are risk of illness, who are separated from their loved ones back here in Australia - that's not a state government's job to sort out. It's the Federal Government's job to sort out.
JOURNALIST: Have you had any conversations though with state Labor premiers about that?
KENEALLY: This is a responsibility of the Commonwealth Government. As Shadow Minister for Home Affairs. my focus is on what Commonwealth Governments do. As the Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton should be doing his job. We have seen him all week in a partisan play attacking Anastasia Palaszczuk. Not a peep out of him about what's going on in Liberal states that have exactly the same border closure policies as Queensland. Haven't heard him criticise Steven Marshall. Haven't heard him criticise Peter Goodwin in Tasmania. Peter Dutton should stop playing partisan state politics. We don't have time for this. We're in the middle of a global pandemic. He should be doing his job. And his number one job right now as Minister for Home Affairs should developing a plan to get these stranded Australians home. 25,000 Australians around the globe in places like the United Kingdom, India, Lebanon and the Philippines. Lebanon for heaven's sakes! The Commonwealth has already given $5 million to Lebanon, they've already recognised the humanitarian disaster, but they're leaving Australians behind in that country. It is within the wit of the Commonwealth Government to resolve this. Send some charter planes out – we’ve got two grounded international airlines. Use the federal quarantine facilities that we have in place. The Prime Minister convened a so-called National Cabinet - go there with a plan. None of this is happening under Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton.
JOURNALIST: On that note about where they should quarantine – the Government should take more control – should the Commonwealth take control of the quarantine arrangements for international arrivals?
KENEALLY: Well, quarantine is a Federal Government responsibility. Let me say this again. quarantine is a Federal Government responsibility. The international borders are a Federal Government responsibility. We have a Prime Minister who's got a plaque to himself in his office, a trophy of boats saying ‘I stopped these’. Soon he's going to have to have a photo array of all the 25 000 stranded Australians up in his office saying ‘I stopped these people as well.’ Come on - these are our fellow Australians. Right now there are families separated by this international hard border closure and by the cap on international arrivals. They've been price gouged by airlines. And when they call on their Federal Government for help, as it says in the front of their passport, that they are entitled to do, what do they get told? Go to a charity to get some food. Go check out the homeless shelters in Vancouver. We can’t help you. Come on. Isn't there any more Australian of a value than don't leave your mates behind?
JOURNALIST: Do you think Christmas Island should be used for quarantine arrivals?
KENEALLY: Christmas Island has already been used for quarantine arrivals. It's already been used in this global pandemic. The Commonwealth have used their facilities on Christmas Island. They have used their facilities in the Northern Territory. I'd also point out there's a lot of empty hotels around Australia. The Commonwealth have the capacity here. The Commonwealth should have the leadership here. But as like so many things with this Prime Minister, he's big on an announcement - announced a National Cabinet but it's falling apart and it's not working. He's always there for the headline – he’s rarely there for the follow through.
JOURNALIST: Brett from SBS – thank you. Just on the international cap – that was put in place because the states identified what they can comfortably cope with. Isn't the bigger issue here the fact that the testing and tracing capabilities of the states is limiting international arrivals, not the will of the Federal Government?
KENEALLY: Not at all. When it comes to testing and tracing, first of all just listen to Greg Hunt – ‘we lead the world’. I’ll leave him to explain that. But secondly, what would really help is if we had a tracing app that worked. The COVIDsafe app does not work. Let's just call a spade a shovel here. I mean, the NSW Opal Card does a better job at tracing Coronavirus cases than the COVIDsafe app. But, where we have capacity, and we do in places like Canberra, Darwin and on the Gold Coast, where we have the capacity with both airports and hotels. And surely if this Commonwealth Government stumped up some resources, ADF support perhaps could assist. They are responsible for borders. They are responsible for quarantine and they should put a plan in place to ensure that Australians are not stranded overseas homeless and without a valid visa in some of these countries who are also subject to a raging coronavirus infection rates. They should get these people home and they should be doing it now.
JOURNALIST: In terms of the legal standing of those Australians? Do you believe that they're being denied their birthright and their constitutional right to return home to Australia? And does that expose the Federal Government legally?
KENEALLY: Well, this is something legal scholars are currently discussing. But the right of a citizen is the right to return to your home country. And the only thing that is stopping people from being able to return to their home country, Australia, right now is this cap on international arrivals. Scott Morrison announced it. It was a decision of his National Cabinet. Now, there is a problem here and it's up to Scott Morrison and his Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to fix it.
JOURNALIST: And just one final question, thanks for your patience. There's still two Australians missing at sea off the Japanese coast. The families have been pleading with the Government to help and they haven't really been given a clear indication from the Government as to even if that search is continuing. What's your message to the Federal Government? And are they doing enough to support those families?
KENEALLY: This is incredibly distressing story. Two Australians, it would appear, are lost at sea off the coast of Japan. The Australian Government has within it the resources and the expertise to not only be engaged but to lead these types of search and rescue missions. The Australian Government should be doing more. The Australian Government should be actively engaged with the government of Japan in helping lead the search for these missing Australians and the Australian Government should be doing everything it can to support the families of these missing Australians during this time.
All right, thanks, everyone.
ENDS