INDIA New England News
Canberra– Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has denied suggestions that the government’s decision to ban travel from India amid the country’s worsening Covid-19 situation was motivated by racism.
Payne said that the “temporary” move to ban travel from India to Australia was made in response to the high number of Covid-19 infections among Australians in hotel quarantine who have returned from the country, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
“The burden that has placed on the health systems in the states and territories, including through particularly Howard Springs, is a very significant one,” she told reporters on Sunday.
David Crowe and Rachel Clun09:54, May 04 2021
Furious community leaders have accused the Australian Government of imposing “racist” jail terms on Australians who return from India amid a wider row over the secrecy involved in the emergency controls on citizen rights. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also facing growing unrest among MPs who want the sanctions eased as soon as possible out of concern that the “extreme” measures impose great hardship on the community. Indian leaders said they were “blindsided” by the Government announcement at midnight on Friday night when they had been in meetings with federal ministers earlier that day and heard no suggestion of the coming move.
Hermit nation: Australia locks out its citizens in extreme new Covid policy politico.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from politico.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Last modified on Mon 26 Apr 2021 01.26 EDT
The Victorian government has backed Mark McGowanâs call to tighten exemptions to leave Australia, while even New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian agrees only those who âabsolutely have toâ should be travelling.
In comments to Guardian Australia the Victorian acting premier, James Merlino, joined Western Australiaâs push to tighten exemptions and blasted the Morrison government for allowing âthousands of people to leave every monthâ, which is âneither safe nor logicalâ.
Berejiklian, by contrast, has said it is up to the federal government to determine exemptions and ânot a call for the statesâ, who should instead focus on improving hotel quarantine.