Coronavirus | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
  • IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.

Coronavirus

BT Tiger

Moderator
Staff member
Jun 5, 2005
3,485
4,403
Warragul
I'm quite stunned - I just read an opinion piece of Andrew Bolts which i actually agree with! This ban on Australians returning from India really smacks of racism, particularly in light of our response to the UK and SA Covid variants.

Last week, Peter Dutton poo-pooed the idea of a purpose-built quarantine facility and cited the hotel quarantine program as 99.9% effective, yet it seems we need to shut the borders to ease the strain on the hotels of our own citizens returning from India? am i missing something here?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users

DjJazzyPete

Tiger Matchwinner
Sep 8, 2014
960
882
Nata , Botswana
I'm quite stunned - I just read an opinion piece of Andrew Bolts which i actually agree with! This ban on Australians returning from India really smacks of racism, particularly in light of our response to the UK and SA Covid variants.

Last week, Peter Dutton poo-pooed the idea of a purpose-built quarantine facility and cited the hotel quarantine program as 99.9% effective, yet it seems we need to shut the borders to ease the strain on the hotels of our own citizens returning from India? am i missing something here?
Still trying to get back to see my mum and see the Tigers win this years GF .. late Sept / Oct Maybe flights to Aus are an issue .. or Jan /Feb 2022 things are not great esp in the south of the country .. curfew till Oct etc travel permits needed to travel etc here and the Chinese have given there sinovac vac to countries here .. doesn't sound very effective
 

eZyT

Tiger Legend
Jun 28, 2019
21,431
25,755
I'm quite stunned - I just read an opinion piece of Andrew Bolts which i actually agree with!

theres something fishy going on when Andrew Bolt leaps to the defence of brown people.

very fishy
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

LeeToRainesToRoach

Tiger Legend
Jun 4, 2006
33,186
11,546
Melbourne
This ban on Australians returning from India really smacks of racism, particularly in light of our response to the UK and SA Covid variants.
The government acted on written advice from the CMO that the ban was necessary to prevent a third wave of the virus in Australia.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

RoarEmotion

Tiger Champion
Aug 20, 2005
4,933
6,439
The government acted on written advice from the CMO that the ban was necessary to prevent a third wave of the virus in Australia.
From what I’ve read it seems the density (percentage) of infected people is much higher coming from India than what the facilities are meant to handle.

But whatever it is it needs to be communicated more clearly
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mrposhman

Tiger Legend
Oct 6, 2013
17,844
21,169
I'm quite stunned - I just read an opinion piece of Andrew Bolts which i actually agree with! This ban on Australians returning from India really smacks of racism, particularly in light of our response to the UK and SA Covid variants.

It depends. How many of the 9,000 aussie citizens / perm residents in India travelled their since Covid restrictions on leaving Australia have been announced (ie. since around April last year?

There is a big difference between stranded Aussies overseas and those that decided to take the risk of travelling to another country during a pandemic for whatever reason that they did, whether it be a family funeral, wedding, or for work (Michael Slater).

I find it hard to be supportive for those that travelled on a risk weighted decision, when the risk goes against them and they become stranded. If 1 of my family members in the UK died, I wouldn't be travelling to the UK as the risk is too great. I have my brothers wedding next year but I still don't know if I will go as the risk could also be too high. There have been numerous people that have cancelled weddings due to Covid, and remember there were a lot of people who didn't get to go to funerals IN Australia last year. Why should the country take the risk, for a personal decision that others have made??

At the end of the day the governments job is to protect the 25m citizens living in Australia predominantly which is what they are doing. This isn't a racist play, no-one was saying the same when flights from China were banned last year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

Ridley

Tiger Legend
Jul 21, 2003
17,755
15,433
It depends. How many of the 9,000 aussie citizens / perm residents in India travelled their since Covid restrictions on leaving Australia have been announced (ie. since around April last year?

There is a big difference between stranded Aussies overseas and those that decided to take the risk of travelling to another country during a pandemic for whatever reason that they did, whether it be a family funeral, wedding, or for work (Michael Slater).

I find it hard to be supportive for those that travelled on a risk weighted decision, when the risk goes against them and they become stranded. If 1 of my family members in the UK died, I wouldn't be travelling to the UK as the risk is too great. I have my brothers wedding next year but I still don't know if I will go as the risk could also be too high. There have been numerous people that have cancelled weddings due to Covid, and remember there were a lot of people who didn't get to go to funerals IN Australia last year. Why should the country take the risk, for a personal decision that others have made??

At the end of the day the governments job is to protect the 25m citizens living in Australia predominantly which is what they are doing. This isn't a racist play, no-one was saying the same when flights from China were banned last year.
Spot on Posh. We should also remember that the second most recent outbreak in Perth was due to someone who travelled to India to get married and returned with the virus.

Given the very unfortunate circumstances in India at the moment this decision is a no brainer until we can get quarantine to a point where it can cope with the increased numbers of infected returnees.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

spook

Kick the f*ckin' goal
Jun 18, 2007
21,909
26,406
Melbourne
"Sure, you can go to India."

"Don't come home or we'll throw you in jail."

This government is a *smile* ing disgrace.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

BT Tiger

Moderator
Staff member
Jun 5, 2005
3,485
4,403
Warragul
It depends. How many of the 9,000 aussie citizens / perm residents in India travelled their since Covid restrictions on leaving Australia have been announced (ie. since around April last year?

There is a big difference between stranded Aussies overseas and those that decided to take the risk of travelling to another country during a pandemic for whatever reason that they did, whether it be a family funeral, wedding, or for work (Michael Slater).

I find it hard to be supportive for those that travelled on a risk weighted decision, when the risk goes against them and they become stranded. If 1 of my family members in the UK died, I wouldn't be travelling to the UK as the risk is too great. I have my brothers wedding next year but I still don't know if I will go as the risk could also be too high. There have been numerous people that have cancelled weddings due to Covid, and remember there were a lot of people who didn't get to go to funerals IN Australia last year. Why should the country take the risk, for a personal decision that others have made??

At the end of the day the governments job is to protect the 25m citizens living in Australia predominantly which is what they are doing. This isn't a racist play, no-one was saying the same when flights from China were banned last year.

I don't know the answer to your initial question Posh, but I could pose a similar question about Australians visiting the UK last year. We didn't threaten our own returning citizens with jail time when things went pear-shaped in the UK, we just dealt with them in hotel quarantine like we should.

If hotel quarantine isn't up to scratch then the federal government should build a dedicated quarantine facility which isn't in the middle of the cities. I'm tired of the hypocrisy of this federal government who have refused to deal proactively with quarantine. They've had 13 months to build a national quarantine facility but instead politicized the Labor states hotel quarantine program whenever there was an outbreak.

When the Vic gov makes a perfectly reasonable pitch for a dedicated facility, old potato head Dutton comes and smacks it down with disdain. 3 days later were announcing jail time punishments for returned travelers...

From what I've read this morning Scomo has already backflipped on the tough stance on this since so many high profile (white) people have criticized the measures. Scomo is nothing but a poll watcher who licks his finger to feel the breeze before making a decision.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

BT Tiger

Moderator
Staff member
Jun 5, 2005
3,485
4,403
Warragul
It's like the Titanic is going down and the lifeboats are full. "Sorry, you can't come aboard, you'll doom us all." Cruel but necessary.

A more accurate analogy would be "There are actually shitloads of lifeboats, but we built them so shoddily that we don't trust them not to leak..."
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

LeeToRainesToRoach

Tiger Legend
Jun 4, 2006
33,186
11,546
Melbourne
A more accurate analogy would be "There are actually shitloads of lifeboats, but we built them so shoddily that we don't trust them not to leak..."
The whole world has been caught off guard. No country has a fit-for-purpose pandemic handling centre operating in the background in case of a once-a-century random event. We're doing the best we can in the circumstances.

Perhaps those who travelled during the pandemic didn't understand the seriousness of the situation and thought they could carry on their lives as normal. Is that the government's fault?
 

spook

Kick the f*ckin' goal
Jun 18, 2007
21,909
26,406
Melbourne
The whole world has been caught off guard. No country has a fit-for-purpose pandemic handling centre operating in the background in case of a once-a-century random event. We're doing the best we can in the circumstances.
They've had a year to build one. They have Christmas Island. They have army facilities outside Darwin. They have instead made it illegal for Australians to return to Australia. They would not have done this if it was the UK or US. We know this because they didn't. They are a disgrace.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

tigerman

It's Tiger Time
Mar 17, 2003
24,149
19,617
Still trying to get back to see my mum and see the Tigers win this years GF .. late Sept / Oct Maybe flights to Aus are an issue .. or Jan /Feb 2022 things are not great esp in the south of the country .. curfew till Oct etc travel permits needed to travel etc here and the Chinese have given there sinovac vac to countries here .. doesn't sound very effective
I feel for you DJ, stay healthy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

LeeToRainesToRoach

Tiger Legend
Jun 4, 2006
33,186
11,546
Melbourne
They've had a year to build one. They have Christmas Island. They have army facilities outside Darwin. They have instead made it illegal for Australians to return to Australia. They would not have done this if it was the UK or US. We know this because they didn't. They are a disgrace.
People are getting sick and dying in India twice as fast as anywhere else, and they're just the official figures. They also have at least three mutations running riot which are afflicting younger people than elsewhere. It is out of control, literally.
 

spook

Kick the f*ckin' goal
Jun 18, 2007
21,909
26,406
Melbourne
People are getting sick and dying in India twice as fast as anywhere else, and they're just the official figures. They also have at least three mutations running riot which are afflicting younger people than elsewhere. It is out of control, literally.
All the more reason to get Australians out of there asap. At the very least vaccinate them.