Highlights
- Opening Australia’s international borders at this time would not be considered 'safe or wise’: PM Morrison
- The federal government has not made any decision to open borders to international students
- Australia has extended its international travel ban till 17 June
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said today that now is not the time to open the international borders more broadly.
"We share that view about wanting to open up. But at this stage, opening up to international arrivals at that scale is not considered safe or wise,” he told reporters after the National Cabinet meeting in Canberra today.
'No disagreement' on international borders'
Mr Morrison said there’s no “disagreement amongst any of the premiers or the chief ministers about the closure of international borders and the current arrangements we have for that, which extends out to the end of June.”
No change yet in letting international students in:
Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media. Source: AP
Questioned if the government had decided to allow international students to return to the country, Mr Morrison said there was no change on that front.
"It would be good if we could get to that point, but at this stage, we're not at that point," he said.
The opening of the international borders, we don't think is wise at this time, and for the period that we've suggested, and that's totally consistent with the medical advice - PM
Luvpreet Singh Source: Supplied by Mr Singh
The 30-year-old who is stuck in Barnala in the north Indian state of Punjab said, “the uncertainty around travel is killing our Australian dream and ruining our future.”
“We had pinned all our hopes on the National Cabinet meeting today, but the government has once again disappointed us. We are running out of visas and the wait is exhausting,” he added.
Mr Singh said the government should address the concerns of temporary visa holders stuck overseas, with no indication of when they can return to the lives they painstakingly built in Australia, often at the cost of thousands of dollars.
“We have invested so much in our education and post-study work experience, all of which would go down the drain if they didn’t allow us to return this year. This is pushing many students and work visa holders to consider migration to countries like Canada, which have shown great compassion towards temporary migrants, unlike Australia,” he rued.
International travel ban to remain until 17 June:
The prime minister’s statements on international borders come days after Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the extension of the "human biosecurity emergency period", which bars temporary visa holders from entering the country and stops permanent residents and citizens from leaving without a travel exemption.
Federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt delivers an update of the COVID-19 vaccination program during a press conference in Sydney Source: AAP
On Tuesday, Mr Hunt said the ban set to expire on 17 March, has now been extended for another three months due to the "unacceptable risk" of COVID outbreaks in other countries.
“The AHPPC (Australian Health Protection Principal Committee) has advised the Australian government the COVID-19 situation overseas continues to pose an unacceptable public health risk to Australia, including the emergence of more highly transmissible variants,” he said.
“The extension of the emergency period for a further three months is about mitigating that risk for everyone’s health and safety," added Mr Hunt.
Impact on outbound travel:
The extension of the travel ban prevents Australian citizens and permanent residents from leaving the country unless they are granted an exemption from the Australian Border Force.
Sydney-based Divya Kumari, who has applied for an outward exemption twice to see her mother in India who met with an accident last month, said, “this is frustrating beyond a point.”
“I have applied for outward exemption twice only to be rejected both times. The authorities must ensure that those with emergency reasons to travel are allowed on priority,” the 32-year-old single mum said.
According to data obtained by 9News in response to an FOI request, the ABF has approved 105,028 outward exemptions between 25 March and 31 December 2020. Most of these people were allowed to leave the country on compassionate and compelling grounds or for reasons, including long overseas trips or business travel.
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