'Some things have gone wrong here': Andrews wants help finding 17 travellers from NZ - The Age

Seventeen people who travelled from New Zealand to Sydney, then on to Melbourne are now unidentified in the Victorian community somewhere, Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed.

Victorian authorities do not know where the travellers are and have sought advice from federal authorities, Mr Andrews said.

He expressed his frustration with the situation, saying "surely our systems are better than this".

"We are still waiting - I am not sure why we're waiting, but we are still waiting for Australian Border Force to provide us with the passenger cards for each of those 17 people.

"As soon as we get that detail, we will be visiting each of those people and making sure that they are fully up to date, as it were, when it comes to the rules, the regulations, the structures that we have in Victoria."

"At around 5.30 yesterday evening, 17 people from New Zealand, having travelled on an international flight from New Zealand to Sydney, were then allowed to board a plane and travel to Melbourne," Mr Andrews said.

"They didn't spend very long at the airport. They left the airport within only minutes, really, of having arrived. Our officers have absolutely no power to stop someone, to detain someone in those circumstances."

The 17 people may not ‘need to be tested’, he said.

Once the state government receives the embarkation cards, Victoria Police is expected to complete welfare checks, and the travellers will be given information about the requirements of Victoria’s COVID-19 restrictions, like wearing masks outside.

Mr Andrews said the travellers should have been asked at Sydney Airport where they were going to and told they couldn’t enter Melbourne under the trans-Tasman bubble agreement.

He said he didn’t believe the travellers had done anything wrong, and because they came from New Zealand where there is little virus, they may not need to be tested for COVID-19.

"I have written to the Prime Minister this morning and we're disappointed this has happened given that I had written to the Prime Minister on this very issue the previous day, saying at some point
we will join that New Zealand/Australia travel bubble but it is not appropriate now.

"This is effectively possible because we haven't closed our border, I don't think these people could have travelled domestically into other states where borders are closed. That is what the Prime Minister wants. We have done that and now we see 17 people turning up on our doorstep without any notice, without any structure and we still can't get the cards from Australian Border Force as to who these people are and where they have gone."

"There are more flights coming on Sunday from New Zealand and we don't want a repeat of this," he said.

"But surely it is not beyond those who are responsible for the borders of our nation making sure that only those who are in the New Zealand bubble can receive domestic passengers after they have arrived into an international airport.

"There is perhaps some refinements that need to be made across this entire arrangement … some things have gone wrong here.

"Our formal position is we are not ready to accept people into our State from other countries, even New Zealand, particularly while Victorians themselves and particularly Melburnians don't have the freedom of movement that they want and that that they are entitled to."

The Victorian Premier said he had written to the Prime Minister to say he was disappointed this has happened, given he had written to him on the same issue the day before.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said he was made aware this morning that 17 people from New Zealand landed in Melbourne on Friday night. Police were expecting to receive their addresses soon so they can undertake welfare checks, he added.

"I was notified this morning," he told reporters at a press conference on Saturday. "We will have a role later today to check on their welfare and wellbeing prior to them moving, I understand, back to Sydney.

"They are in Melbourne, they are not subject to detention orders but are subject to restrictions as all others are in metro Melbourne."

"We have been provided advice they are not under detention orders, I don't know the legality of it," he said. "I'm not certain of when they plan to return to Sydney."

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMikgFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL3NvbWUtdGhpbmdzLWhhdmUtZ29uZS13cm9uZy1oZXJlLWFuZHJld3Mtd2FudHMtaGVscC1maW5kaW5nLTE3LXRyYXZlbGxlcnMtZnJvbS1uei0yMDIwMTAxNy1wNTY2MDYuaHRtbNIBkgFodHRwczovL2FtcC50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL3NvbWUtdGhpbmdzLWhhdmUtZ29uZS13cm9uZy1oZXJlLWFuZHJld3Mtd2FudHMtaGVscC1maW5kaW5nLTE3LXRyYXZlbGxlcnMtZnJvbS1uei0yMDIwMTAxNy1wNTY2MDYuaHRtbA?oc=5

2020-10-17 01:21:00Z
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