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Australia’s immigration minister is threatening the deportation of some attendees of a large party in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Christmas Day who broke Covid-19 rules.
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Alex Hawke reminded visa holders that they are “guests” in Australia. Source: Associated Press
But the opposition doubts that Alex Hawke can move forward because the government is already having trouble deporting criminals released due to the pandemic and global border restrictions.
“Your government has had enough trouble deporting some convicted criminals, much less hundreds of backpackers,” Labor immigration spokeswoman Kristina Keneally told AAP this afternoon.
“These kinds of empty threats can actually do more harm than good and I encourage the minister to make sure his department can actually do what it says.”
Hawke previously said he was “shocked by the scenes” at Bronte Beach, where crowds violated social distancing and other rules imposed due to a virus outbreak in North Sydney.
Some of the group’s members are believed to be backpackers who remained in Australia during the coronavirus pandemic, or mostly expatriates from the UK.
“Under the Migration Act, if someone threatens public safety or health, their visa can be canceled or revoked,” Hawke told Sydney Radio 2GB.
“The federal government is looking at that issue.”
The Department of Home Affairs is apparently working with New South Wales authorities before the New Year to make sure people do the right thing, he added.
“We are very happy to deport people if they flagrantly disobey public health orders,” Hawke said.
When asked about her reaction, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she wasn’t sure how far the federal government had gone down that road.
“That is their business and we would support whatever decision they deem appropriate,” he said.
Senator Keneally said that everyone in Australia, including foreigners, must follow health instructions or “face the consequences.”
Currently, people can be fined or face possible jail time for failing to comply with health orders.
NSW is trying to suppress a Covid-19 outbreak in the northern Sydney gaps, which has now grown to a pool of 129 cases.
The area will remain closed until the new year after three new cases of community transmission are confirmed today.
A plan to give frontline coronavirus workers around New South Wales prime seats to watch Sydney Harbor’s famous New Year’s fireworks was also canceled.
“It is too much of a health risk for people from the regions and Sydney and broader regional areas to gather at the CBD,” Berejiklian said Monday.
Victoria today marked 60 days without any cases of community transmission after winning the battle against a second wave outbreak earlier this year.
Australia’s death toll from coronavirus stands at 909, after a New South Wales man in his 70s who was infected with Covid-19 in March recently died of respiratory complications.
