30th Nov 2020, 4:45 PM – Senate Motions - Covid-19: Repatriation - Bring stranded Australians home

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Tasmanian Senator Anne Urquhart (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

a. notes that:

(i) the Australian Government is responsible for borders, quarantine, and assisting Australians in jeopardy and stranded overseas,

(ii) since the Prime Minister capped international passenger arrivals on 13 July 2020, the number of stranded Australians overseas has risen dramatically to more than 36,875, and the number of Australians classified as vulnerable has doubled to 8,070,

(iii) Amnesty International Australia has reported that the 'arbitrary cap needs to be significantly increased or removed' and quarantine 'needs to be significantly expanded',

(iv) on 10 November 2020, the Senate called on the Government to take urgent steps to help every stranded Australian return home by:

(A) increasing the number of permitted arrivals under international flight caps through using Commonwealth resources to increase quarantine capacity,

(B) stopping price gouging by airlines flying into Australia, and

(C) putting all options on the table to return stranded Australians, especially from places like the United Kingdom, India, the Philippines and Lebanon—including charter flights, and

(v) the Morrison Government did not announce any funding or initiative as part of the 2020-21 Federal Budget to respond to the Senate's motion, and has no plan to help every stranded Australian return home; and

(b) calls on the Morrison Government to bring our stranded Australians home by Christmas as the Prime Minister promised he would do.