Backbench MPs warned the government not to use the Omicron variant as an excuse to reinstate border restrictions but stopped short of saying all border controls should be abolished | niltiac
Several groups of people are still blocked from travelling into or out of Australia, as a prominent epidemiologist questions the point of a “half open” international border amid surging numbers of domestic COVID-19 cases.
Professor McLaws said the problem was not the number of people coming to Australia but the fact they were not given a rapid antigen test on arrival. She said she had been told by recent travellers that the required PCR test 72 hours before a passenger flies to Australia was not always enforced at the departure airport or verified upon arrival.
While there was a “good argument” to say that Omicron was already here and therefore border restrictions served little useful purpose, he believed it was important not to rush. Labor’s spokeswoman on immigration, Senator Kristina Keneally, said: “Australian families and businesses can’t plan for a better future because Mr Morrison still does not have a safe plan to reopen our borders two years after they were closed.”
Monika’s parents are now allowed to come to Australia because her brother is an Australian citizen and they have an exemption as his parents. However, Monika’s son is not on her bridging visa because he was out of the country at the time and he remains barred from entry.
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