Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have to say, I enjoyed that. I enjoyed it for the following reasons: that was the very, very definition of the sound of straws being clutched at. You could actually hear them hitting the ground, as you would expect. There are a number of fairly flowery statements that were made. I did like—and I have to pay tribute to this one—bringing back the spectre of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who gets a run. It's good to see the Australian Labor Party finding a way to bring him back, even into this debate. I could bring back a few issues myself; I've still got an issue with Gough Whitlam and Blue Poles. We can always go back and run over that.

There are issues that we need to fact check. I know my friends on the other side of the chamber love an ABC fact check. Their mates at the ABC do a fact check; they do them all the time. I don't think they do them well. I'm going to do one well for you, because a series of facts have been overlooked. The fact of the matter here is that the Prime Minister made a statement yesterday and he has corrected it. It happens. The truth of the matter is that this government has helped numerous people to return to Australia during what has been a very, very difficult. I know that my friends opposite like to ebb and flow when it comes to understanding the very difficult nature of this COVID-19 pandemic. This is not been a run-of-the-mill operation to send a plane overseas to go and collect some people.

We've seen over 432,000 Australians return from overseas since the government recommended that people reconsidered the need to travel abroad back in March. My friends on the other side of the chamber like to make it sound like everyone's just been abandoned, the government has dropped the ball and left everyone stranded in various different hotspots. It's just not the case. The fact is the COVID-19 pandemic is still, as we speak, not over—another fact for my friends on the other side of the chamber—and the government's continuing to support Australians overseas while at the same time managing the delicate balancing act of protecting Australians' health and safety and the community at home. Since 18 September—we are talking two months ago—43,000 Australians have been returned home. Once again, that's a fact check—not an ABC fact check but a real one. Over 17,000 of these passengers have been registered with DFAT, including more than 3,700 vulnerable Australians.

What this means in real terms is that, during the pandemic, 32,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents have returned home on over 370 flights—that is, 370 flights in the middle of a pandemic. That is not just sending a Cessna to collect a couple of mates down at the RSL bowls club on Kangaroo Island. Seventy-six of these flights have been directly facilitated by the government, and they've gone into difficult locations such as Peru, South Africa, India and the UK. Let me say that the experience of negotiating access across borders with different governments has been no mean feat. The government has delivered and has done it well. Twelve commercial flights have been facilitated by the government since 23 October, returning 1,700 passengers, including a facilitated flight with Qantas from Dili to Hobart that landed this last Sunday with around 120 passengers. Once again, at the risk of repeating it, these are facts—not ABC facts, but facts.

Currently, 3,900 Australians are registered with DFAT as wishing to return home. Some may not take up the immediate option to return, while others may seek to return home at a later date due to particular circumstances. That is the nature of the ebb and flow of the situation that DFAT and the government find themselves in in the middle of this pandemic. The DFAT administered hardship program has actually distributed over $10 million to 1,900 Australians overseas to cover the cost of accommodation, subsistence and flights, as they may be. Australians have been as well catered for as can possibly be expected during this very difficult time. It is just incorrect to try to politicise this, to raise the spectre of past prime ministers or to do whatever other straw-clutching exercises we've seen. This government has allocated $60 million to support Australians to return home. Melbourne Airport, the second-largest, has been taking international arrivals since July. DFAT of course will not remove any Australians from its registration database without their consent. This program continues to bring Australians home and it continues to do so in a timely and safe manner. (Time expired)