THE Australian Open will begin in February, with 1200 players, support staff and officials converging on Melbourne for a two-week quarantine. Players are permitted to leave their rooms for five hours a day for training during their stay at some of Melbourne’s most prestigious hotels.
There is no question the Australian Open is a positive sign of a new normal in Australia’s fight against the pandemic. However, while strict restrictions, testing regimes and tracing strategies will mean an outbreak is unlikely, the fact is these international travellers require extraordinarily valuable quarantine space.
The Andrews Government has also indicated it plans to make space for international students to return to the state. This will require a major quarantine system.
Meanwhile, families remain worried about stranded offspring overseas, who cannot be brought home due to quarantine limitations. The states’ quarantine capacities are the linchpin to getting Australians home and reuniting families that have been apart for months.
The quarantine impasse is creating a crisis for our harvest season. I and Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud have been advocating for months to the Victorian Government to facilitate quarantine processes for seasonal workers. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has also made it clear to Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley that there is no impediment from a Commonwealth perspective and these workers would have visas stamped as soon as quarantine facilities were made available.
Despite quarantine proposals being made to the Victorian Government, it is yet to outline a plan, let alone set it in motion.
One such proposal was made in October by health services provider Aspen Medical. This proposal would expedite the construction of a 200-person quarantine facility in Mildura.
But this proposal has not even been acknowledged by the Victorian Health Minister. This innovative solution is supported by the Federal Government and would be fantastic for growers in Sunraysia.
The lack of action by the Victorian Government is yet another slap to the face of growers some of whom have ploughed in their crops due to a lack of harvest labour.
It once more proves the Andrews Government is focused on metropolitan Melbourne and fails to recognise and value the agricultural industry.
