Pressure builds on Andrews over borders, tennis 'double standard' - The Age

The state government continues to stand firm on its policy of preventing Victorians in COVID "red zones" of Sydney and Brisbane from returning home, despite growing criticism of its decision to welcome 1240 international arrivals from around the world for the Australian Open.

Criticism from the state opposition, stranded families and the head of the nation's largest airline came as a leading infectious diseases expert said Australia's public health effort could "do without" the Open, predicting a 2 per cent COVID-positive rate among the 1240 people due to arrive in Melbourne for the event.

Premier Daniel Andrews this week.Credit:Jason South

Qantas boss Alan Joyce added his voice to the calls for Victoria to relax its travel restrictions with Sydney and Brisbane, saying the continued preventing of Victorians from returning home, while allowing the tennis players from “countries where the virus is raging” to arrive, was "bizarre".

The Qantas chief executive said on Friday that his carrier and its budget arm Jetstar had cancelled almost 3000 flights between Melbourne and Sydney since the borders slammed shut on New Year's Eve.

“Behind each of those cancelled flights are a lot of people whose plans have been thrown up in the air,” he said in a written statement.

“Family they’re not going to see, events they’ll miss and homes they can’t get back to.”

On Thursday, American Tennys Sandgren was allowed to travel to Australia with his positive COVID-19 swab assessed as "viral shedding", while fellow players Andy Murray and Madison Keys were blocked from charter flights to Melbourne due to positive coronavirus diagnoses.

Australian National University infectious diseases specialist Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake said Victorian health authorities could expect about 2 per cent of the 1240 people flying in for the tennis to test positive.

"From a public health point of view, if we could do without the Australian Open, at least in this part of the year, I think it would be ideal if we did so," he said.

Dr Senanayake said the decision to hold the event, like previous state government decisions to proceed with the Test series against India, was a matter of balancing finances with public health measures.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry acting chief executive Dugald Murray congratulated the state government for its "pragmatic and responsible" approach to staging the tournament.

“The flow-on effects for our visitor economy and global reputation are enormous and a welcome boost for Victorian businesses and workers that have done it so hard throughout COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.”

On Tuesday, Premier Daniel Andrews said the Asia-Pacific tennis tournament would be poached by another nation if Melbourne cancelled the event. Various government ministers have emphasised strict precautions with the quarantine arrangements for Australian Open participants.

In comments that appeared to be aimed squarely at Mr Andrews, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian pleaded for the leaders of other states and territories to consider her state's success in shutting down outbreaks and clusters of COVID-19.

Ms Berejiklian, who insisted late last year that Victoria demonstrate 28 days free of community transmission of the virus before she opened her own state’s border, called for more compassion to be shown to those who now found themselves stranded interstate.

“Too many state leaders are moving too quickly in closing their borders without properly assessing what it might mean for their citizens and what it might mean for others around the nation,” she said.

Victoria’s Health Minister Martin Foley said he understood the frustration of Victorians stranded in Sydney or Brisbane, which are still considered red zones by the state government, but said he did not want to risk another outbreak in Victoria.

The minister could still not offer stranded Victorians a timetable for coming home.

"We're constantly going through those processes and we're constantly reviewing the risks associated with the red zones in both the five local government areas in Brisbane and the local government areas in greater Sydney,” Mr Foley said.

"I understand the frustrations and the dislocation this is causing but even more so I understand the frustration and dislocation that another cluster outbreak in Victoria would cause.

"I apologise for the dislocation that this has caused but I make no apology for the principle of keeping Victoria safe and keeping Victoria open."

Maree Nugent is marooned in a Queensland 'red zone'.Credit:Glenn Hunt

Maree Nugent, one of tens of thousands of Victorians displaced by the state’s abrupt border closures, expressed frustration at the ongoing uncertainty about when she was allowed home.

Maree and Peter Nugent left their Balwyn North home on Christmas Day to fly to Brisbane to visit her 97-year-old grandmother.

Ms Nugent was supposed to go back to work on Friday at a not-for-profit organisation but despite returning a negative test to COVID-19 three days ago, remains marooned in a “red zone’’.

“We knew we were not infected when we left Victoria and up here we have been most cautious about where we have been and what we have done,’’ she said.

“We applied for an exemption on the Tuesday and we haven’t heard anything since.’’

Mr Nugent, a high school teacher, questioned why Victoria’s border remained shut to Brisbane travellers after Queensland had recorded several days of no new community transmissions.

“Notwithstanding the Premier’s efforts to keep COVID at bay, it is not a proportionate response,’’ he said.

“Every day there are international carriers bringing in people with COVID. I really don’t think there ought to be a problem with dometic travel.’’

Nearly 129,000 applications for permits to travel to Victoria have been processed since the new "traffic light" permit system was introduced January 11, including nearly 21,000 since Thursday.

Since the start of the Victorian-NSW border restrictions, 1886 exemptions have been granted and just four applications or 0.21 percent have been rejected.

The health department said approved exemption applications mostly related to Victorians returning for compassionate reasons, as well as inter-state residents travelling into Victoria for funerals or to be with a loved one at the end of their life.

State Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said the government had not been listening to Victorians stranded in Sydney and Brisbane, who he said were contacting his office with “heartbreaking stories”.

“I don’t think the government understands the pain that so many Victorians are going through. They just want to get home,” the Liberal leader said.

“For Daniel Andrews to prioritise bringing tennis players from COVID hotspot countries to Australia rather than bringing home Victorians who are stuck interstate, it's worse than a double fault. It's a double standard.”

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2021-01-15 08:55:00Z
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