Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has retreated from a threat to fine and imprison Australians returning from Covid-wracked India.
Morrison on Tuesday said it was “highly unlikely” that travellers from India would face the maximum penalties of five years jail and a A$66,000 fine for breaking border rules as he faces pressure to overturn them.
“I think the likelihood of any of that occurring is pretty much zero,” Morrison said.
Australia had temporarily banned its citizens from entering if they have been in India within two weeks of their arrival. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that there are about 9,000 Australians living in India who want to come home.
The decision has been widely criticised, with some describing it as “immoral and un-Australian” and others questioning the legality of banning citizens from coming home.
Among those trapped are some of Australia’s most high profile sporting stars, cricketers playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League.
Commentator and former Test cricket star Michael Slater were among those who pilloried Morrison’s decision, saying it was a “disgrace”.
“Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this,” he tweeted. “If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home.”
If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home. It’s a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out quarantine system. I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect
— Michael Slater (@mj_slats)
Morrison said the idea he had blood on his hands was “absurd”.
“The buck stops here when it comes to these decisions, and I’m going to make decisions that I believe are going to protect Australia from a third wave,” he said.
“I’m working to bring them home safely,” he added, indicating that repatriation flights could begin soon after May 15.
The decision came into force on Monday and was denounced by rights groups and some of Morrison’s most prominent allies including Sky News commentator Andrew Bolt who said it “stinks of racism”.
Australia has largely avoided the worst of the pandemic through some of the strictest border controls in the world.
There is a blanket ban on travel to-and-from the country unless an exemption is secured.
Non-residents are mostly banned from entering and anyone who does come into the country must carry out a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine.
But that system has come under increasing strain as the virus has jumped from quarantine facilities and caused a series of outbreaks in the largely unvaccinated community.
The conservative prime minister faces re-election in the next 12 months and had hoped Australia’s relatively successful handling of the pandemic would propel him to victory.
But the India travel ban and a glacial vaccine rollout have prompted criticism.
Australia has administered 2.2 million vaccine doses out of a population of 25 million people, who each need two doses to be fully immunised.
(With inputs from agencies)
Source: Thanks WIONews.com