Highlights
- The number of people allowed into Australia each week will be cut "by just over half"
- It will mean a reduction of over 4,000 people allowed to return home each week
- Travellers will have to pay the cost of mandatory quarantine
Speaking with reporters after the national cabinet meet on Friday, PM Morrison announced Australia was going to reduce the number of inbound flights bringing Australians home, by half in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“The decision that we took to reduce the number of returned travellers to Australia at this time was to ensure that we could put our focus on the resources needed to do the testing and tracing and not have to have resources diverted to other tasks,” PM Morrison said.
“It is a reduction of over 4,000 people coming each week and that is spread across those ports of entry.”
PM Morrison also said that each state and territory will start charging travellers for their two weeks in hotel quarantine.
“Where possible, we will seek to have some sort of national uniformity across those pricings,” PM Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
The announcement has come as shock to Australians stuck overseas desperately trying to return.
“It is very saddening for us. Every day, instead of things getting better, they get worse. It has been five months since I saw my child in Melbourne. It is emotional torture. It is distressing. Is this how you treat your people?” Saakshi Nikhanj, stuck in India told SBS Hindi.
Her recent attempt to fly from India to Australia with her one-year-old son was unsuccessful after the airlines rescheduled the flights.
The permanent resident has been living in lockdown in the Indian city of Chandigarh since travelling there in February and has been separated from her husband and five-year-old son in Melbourne.
Ms Nikhanj, who has bought a ticket to come back to Australia is worried the latest announcement will lead to further delays.
Saakshi Nikhanj and her one-year-old son are separated from her husband and five-year-old in Melbourne. Source: Supplied
“When Melbourne refused to take international passengers, my flight got cancelled. Now I have a ticket for July 17 but with this new announcement, not everyone who has the ticket will be able to travel.
“There are not many options for people to travel. With the cap, it will take even longer,” she said.
She is also disappointed the government has decided to charge for hotel quarantine.
“We are paying exorbitant fares one-way to come back. Now they are asking us to pay for hotel quarantine. Not everyone can afford to pay to stay in a hotel for 14 days,” she says.
She has requested the government to allow people to self-isolate at home.
“We can't afford to pay. They need to give us the option to quarantine at home. There are hefty fines in place and they can fine people who do not quarantine,” she says.
Mr Morrison acknowledged the new measures would make it more difficult for citizens to come home but said they were in the national interest.
"There will be continuing access to Australia but the number of available positions on flights will be less, and I don't think that is surprising or unreasonable in the circumstances that we find ourselves in," he said.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
