Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] Today I need to highlight the plight of members of my community who have been stuck overseas for far longer than they should have been during this pandemic. They are Australians who, through no fault of their own, have been shut out as our borders closed and are now in very precarious situations. It's people like Hannah, in Tokyo. She told me her flight has now been cancelled four times. It's people like Jared, a young man in London who tells me he has never felt more isolated, helpless and alone in his life. It's people Irene, whose daughter is stuck in Manchester. Irene says that, like a lot of people who cannot come home, her daughter has lost faith in the Australian government and is questioning the ethical values it's portraying to the world.

These are all reasonable people. They don't expect miracles from their government, but they don't expect to be stranded without any way to get home for months on end, facing ever increasing costs for plane fares they may never get to use. And is it any wonder they are losing faith when they see reports today that Tony Abbott has been able to fly between Europe and Australia not once but twice during this pandemic. He joins a growing list of people who seem to have connections to this government who get special treatment. Meanwhile, residents of my community are desperately waiting for the Morrison government to put together a real plan to get them home. During a pandemic, facing up to responsibility matters. It's time to live up to that responsibility and get these Australians home.

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