Non-negotiable right of an Australian

Non-negotiable right of an Australian

Australians stranded in India should be allowed to return home without penalty. It is the rights of every Australian no matter where he or she is at this moment. This is non-negotiable.
After the government announced the ban for Australian citizens to return to Australia until 15 May, a 59-year-old man died in India. There are many reasons why people are stranded outside and cannot return to Australia. These include a fluctuation of quarantine spaces, cancellation of flights and the rocketing ticket costs. In India, over 9500 Australians have registered with DFAT to return with 950 being classified as vulnerable including 173 unaccompanied children.

Indians are an emerging migrant community in Australia. People from India settle in Australia after being a student or given working opportunities. Understandably, many new Indian Australians will travel and visit India frequently. At this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government should provide enough support to families stranded overseas especially in India where the life of most people is under threat.

Yes, it is also reasonable for these people to undergo a period of quarantine to ensure they do not bring the virus into the community. Australia deserves to have a quality quarantine program. State governments should work hand in hand with the federal government to ensure every Australian is protected. However, banning people to return especially from highly infectious areas is simply not the right way.

Other countries like Uruguay (1031 per million), Brazil (345 per million), Bahrain (803 per million) and others with a higher rate of daily new infection than India (300 per million) should also not be overlooked. Even though the number of people infected is smaller due to a much smaller population and there are not many people travelling to and from these countries, the risk is still there. The presence of a big Indian migrant community in Australia is a challenge to all of us here. There is why Australian governments should try harder and provide more resources to support Australians in India.

Raymond Chow
Publisher, BlessingCALD