Has anyway delayed or postponed their move to in light of the corona pandemic ?

[Wanderer Returns]

20 hours ago, Dusty Plains said:

No he does not. The reason that Australia is in the reasonably favourable position in relation to Covid-19, worldwide is generally summed up in two words, namely "Scott Morrison" 

 Daniel Andrews the Leftie recalcitrant socialist Commo a*sehole who refused ADF assistance months ago because Lefties absolutely despise the military and any public profile assumed by the military , but above all, Andrews desperately needed to have the last say. 

I'd second that. After the bushfire debacle ScoMo was on the back foot, but he's handled the coronavirus situation pretty well. We'll all be paying for it for years to come of course, but at least the vast majority of Aussies still have a roof over our heads and food on the table. If anyone's head should be on a platter then it's 'Dictator Dan' as I heard someone to refer to him the other day, although the word Dictator is probably generous as it suggests a degree of competance! If that guy spent half as much time doing as he does talking, they'd have got the situation in Victoria under control months ago.

[Marisawright]

56 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

If that guy spent half as much time doing as he does talking, they'd have got the situation in Victoria under control months ago.

I don’t think that’s fair. Victoria has everything just as much under control as NSW until this current spike. 

And let’s remember, the security guard infection wouldn’t have been much of a problem if stupid people hadn’t been having parties

Edited July 12, 2020 by Marisawright

[Skani]

23 hours ago, Dusty Plains said:

 The reason that Australia is in the reasonably favourable position in relation to Covid-19, worldwide is generally summed up in two words, namely "Scott Morrison" 

It's generally summed up in these two words, "State Premiers".  Morrison started off well enough....then tried to bully the states about opening their borders quickly - against the better judgement of the respective Premiers and their Chief Medical Officers.  This included supporting a court action with that oaf Clive Palmer against the West Australian government.  All the state Premiers have done an excellent job in trying to walk the tightrope between the health and and commercial needs of their respective states - and that includes Andrews.  He can't be held responsible for the stupidity of some citizens.  And I wouldn't gloat just yet in NSW:  the Casula hotel hotspot could rapidly expand infections in that state.

[Wanderer Returns]

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I don’t think that’s fair. Victoria has everything just as much under control as NSW until this current spike. 

And let’s remember, the security guard infection wouldn’t have been much of a problem if stupid people hadn’t been having parties

My wife just did 2 weeks quarantine at the Sheraton in Sydney. They had security guards patrolling every floor and police posted 24 hours in reception - by all accounts it was like Fort Knox. There were hotels in Melbourne with no security guards and they were just relying on CCTV. People were sneaking in and out in the evenings, in addition to fraternisation within the hotels. It's unbelievable that so much money has been spent on quarantining for this to be allowed to happen. The buck stop has to stop somewhere.

Edited July 12, 2020 by Wanderer Returns

[RosieH11]

On 11/07/2020 at 10:46, AliQ said:

Exactly. I think Scott Morrison forgot that the whole world went into lockdown, and he obviously lives in another world where lockdown has a different meaning.

And just found out last night that our flight has been cancelled, YET AGAIN, due to his restrictions, so how does he expect us get home then ?

 I hope i'm wrong but Im started to think he doesn't actually want people to get home at all, this whole thing is just a way of stopping the flights completely without actually coming out and saying it. What airlines can afford to fly for just 30-50 people on board  they will just stop flying to Australia all together. Im booked on a flight in two weeks time, so far its not cancelled, however i suspect it soon will be

We have already handed notice in with our jobs & found a tenant to rent our house, paper work is all signed so if we cant get on the flight we too will be jobless & homeless. If we can't get on any flight it'l be even worse as i will lose my Australian PR! the travel facility runs out August 27th. We were supposed to come in April but thought we were doing to right thing by staying put amongst all the chaos, i wished we'd just said stuff it, took the risk of catching this thing and flown when we had the chance. Now we are paying for this mistake big time financially and in stress, anxiety levels are through the roof . If we can't get back before end of August I think i'm done, i just don't have the energy left in me to go through applying again for another visa to try to reinstate my PR or fight my corner. The stress of the last few months is just too much. And seeing the way those of us outside Australia are being bashed daily in the news, social media and by officials is really upsetting. We are pulling together in the UK and beating this awful thing, the sense of community here right now is really lovely! Maybe its just because i'm outside looking in but it feels like Australia is not pulling together but turning against eachother, looking to point fingers and blame, its not the Australian way, it makes me really sad

I wish they would make some concessions for PR holders on a deadline, those of us who either need to activate visas or maintain PR - give us an extension on these deadlines so we are not forced to travel right now, just until this hell is over. We don't want to travel now but we have no choice, else we risk losing everything we worked so hard to get, its not fair and would be so simple to solve if only someone in government gave us a second thought.  

 

 

[AliQ]

3 hours ago, RosieH11 said:

 I hope i'm wrong but Im started to think he doesn't actually want people to get home at all, this whole thing is just a way of stopping the flights completely without actually coming out and saying it. What airlines can afford to fly for just 30-50 people on board  they will just stop flying to Australia all together. Im booked on a flight in two weeks time, so far its not cancelled, however i suspect it soon will be

We have already handed notice in with our jobs & found a tenant to rent our house, paper work is all signed so if we cant get on the flight we too will be jobless & homeless. If we can't get on any flight it'l be even worse as i will lose my Australian PR! the travel facility runs out August 27th. We were supposed to come in April but thought we were doing to right thing by staying put amongst all the chaos, i wished we'd just said stuff it, took the risk of catching this thing and flown when we had the chance. Now we are paying for this mistake big time financially and in stress, anxiety levels are through the roof . If we can't get back before end of August I think i'm done, i just don't have the energy left in me to go through applying again for another visa to try to reinstate my PR or fight my corner. The stress of the last few months is just too much. And seeing the way those of us outside Australia are being bashed daily in the news, social media and by officials is really upsetting. We are pulling together in the UK and beating this awful thing, the sense of community here right now is really lovely! Maybe its just because i'm outside looking in but it feels like Australia is not pulling together but turning against eachother, looking to point fingers and blame, its not the Australian way, it makes me really sad

I wish they would make some concessions for PR holders on a deadline, those of us who either need to activate visas or maintain PR - give us an extension on these deadlines so we are not forced to travel right now, just until this hell is over. We don't want to travel now but we have no choice, else we risk losing everything we worked so hard to get, its not fair and would be so simple to solve if only someone in government gave us a second thought.  

 

 

 

Hi RosieH11, I hear you. I'm fed up of trying to explain to some people why we are still here in the UK.

We actually had flights booked BEFORE covid, but they got cancelled, cancelled again, and now again.

I'm ignoring those who don't, or can't understand, they will never get it if they don't understand by now.

I wish you well and I really hope you get on that flight

 

 

[RosieH11]

2 hours ago, AliQ said:

Hi RosieH11, I hear you. I'm fed up of trying to explain to some people why we are still here in the UK.

We actually had flights booked BEFORE covid, but they got cancelled, cancelled again, and now again.

I'm ignoring those who don't, or can't understand, they will never get it if they don't understand by now.

I wish you well and I really hope you get on that flight

 

 

Thankyou AliQ, I hope you manage to get on a flight soon to x

[Quoll]

I do sympathise with you @AliQ, we made the decision on 12 March to leave because my DH was monitoring things very closely and he basically said - if we don’t get out now we won’t get out at all. Pretty cluey my old man! We booked tickets that afternoon, farewelled my dad in his care home, hired a skip, totally cleared what was left in dads  house, cleaned up, locked up and left to spend the night with our son on Saturday and flew on Sunday. We were fortunate in that all our stuff had been sent on 12 December (the day the first sale of the house fell through!). We had also donated most and sold a few things. Our local garage were superb and offered to sell the car for us and they collected it Sat lunchtime. If we’d not been so far ahead it would have been impossible and, for sure, things got much worse by the end of the next week.  I’d been much less gung ho, thought we might have a few weeks but, as it turns out, the DH was spot on. 
I hope your plans come to fruition sooner rather than later but I’m not seeing things opening for quite a while yet unfortunately! 

[Quoll]

@RosieH11 you should be able to get a RRV unless you’ve already had one and not moved back shouldn’t you? 
Australia certainly does seem to be not quite so cohesive - here in Canberra, it’s like nobody gives two hoots. We’re ticked off if Victorians bring it here that’s for sure!  My U.K. friends are all pathologically isolating and most can’t see themselves doing anything for some months yet. Meanwhile I am trying to organise a funeral on the other side of the world and that isn’t easy either as I don’t know how people feel about being invited (only 15 of them)!.

Hope it all works out for you!

[Nemesis]

2 hours ago, AliQ said:

Hi RosieH11, I hear you. I'm fed up of trying to explain to some people why we are still here in the UK.

We actually had flights booked BEFORE covid, but they got cancelled, cancelled again, and now again.

I'm ignoring those who don't, or can't understand, they will never get it if they don't understand by now.

I wish you well and I really hope you get on that flight

 

 

I'm hearing you, I've tried to explain to so many ozzies exactly why some people still need flights into the country, not just migrants but also people who have gone home for compassionate reasons and that kind of thing - people have gone home to sayt goodbye to dying relatives and are now unable to get flights back and will face a phenomenal bill when they do get here, even though they could quite easily self isolate in their own homes. 

Its starting to show that Australia really is a very insular country and only cares about the ozzies who are here onshore. They seem incapable of understanding the position we are in when everyone we love and care about is in another country. 

[RosieH11]

37 minutes ago, Quoll said:

@RosieH11 you should be able to get a RRV unless you’ve already had one and not moved back shouldn’t you? 
Australia certainly does seem to be not quite so cohesive - here in Canberra, it’s like nobody gives two hoots. We’re ticked off if Victorians bring it here that’s for sure!  My U.K. friends are all pathologically isolating and most can’t see themselves doing anything for some months yet. Meanwhile I am trying to organise a funeral on the other side of the world and that isn’t easy either as I don’t know how people feel about being invited (only 15 of them)!.

Hope it all works out for you!

Unfortunately i don't think they will grant me a RRV as i don't meet the 2 yr residency requirement and from looking at what they class as substantial ties I don't have any of these either, all i have is my previous years living there but most of these were spent on a 457 and not a PR visa. I tempted to just apply & just beg for leniency given the extreme circumstances, I cant be the only person in this predicament . Who knows if they will take pity on me or not though, its awful but i always worry, i remember all the effort, money and stress my ex and i went through on the pathway to PR, so may hurdles we had to go through - it literally broke us and our relationship and i balled my eyes out n the middle of my workplace when i finally got the email saying it had been approved, it meant so much to me. But now i don't know if i can face begging the Australian government to let me in all over again  with the lets blame the overseas peeps saga thats currently popular i'm feeling quite low, and at the moment and questioning if i even really want to return anymore, if i do return are people going to treat us like leppers and abuse us in the streets?! Im sorry i'm so negative at the moment, so depressed over it all, i know for sure i don't have much fight left in me.

My partner and i joked tonight that if we turn up for our flights and they are cancelled we will just get on a flight to somewhere open in SE Asia and live there forever as backpackers..... it was a joke but i'm thinking maybe its an option..... its probably irresponsible to do at nearly 40 but hey we have no kids, we will both be jobless and homeless anyways... the savings we had to start a life in Australia may as well be spent somewhere other then on an overpriced tiny rental in London thats for sure 

[ramot]

34 minutes ago, Quoll said:

@RosieH11 you should be able to get a RRV unless you’ve already had one and not moved back shouldn’t you? 
Australia certainly does seem to be not quite so cohesive - here in Canberra, it’s like nobody gives two hoots. We’re ticked off if Victorians bring it here that’s for sure!  My U.K. friends are all pathologically isolating and most can’t see themselves doing anything for some months yet. Meanwhile I am trying to organise a funeral on the other side of the world and that isn’t easy either as I don’t know how people feel about being invited (only 15 of them)!.

Hope it all works out for you!

Interesting Quoll, I am regularly in touch with my UK friends, and without exception they are all being sensible but also saying things are beginning to get back to some sort of normal, in the last couple of weeks, and they live in many different parts of UK, from the Midlands down to the South. 2 of my friends have even sent photos of finally being finally able to visit the hairdressers. They are all in my age group 70+. 

The areas of Australia are perhaps very different, but honestly I really haven’t noticed any real change in people’s caring attitude to each other here on the coast. We have kept in touch especially with single people and are just  beginning to see more of each other and so enjoying the contact even if still keeping distance. It’s difficult for large groups to restart like Probus meetings due to spacing constrictions , but we are going on our first trip on Thursday.in separate cars, to Noosa Botanical garden followed by a silent movie at the Majestic Theatre in Pomona and lunch. All carefully organised, and then a Christmas in July lunch 2 weeks later. There are lots of rules to be followed.

We had a Christmas in July BBQ for our small street yesterday, we don’t live in each other’s pockets at all, but do look after each other when needed, and really enjoyed the sense of freedom.

I think there is a sense of ‘anger’ perhaps a slightly too strong a word?  towards Victoria, and a concern that it will spread.

 

[Tulip1]

6 minutes ago, RosieH11 said:

Unfortunately i don't think they will grant me a RRV as i don't meet the 2 yr residency requirement and from looking at what they class as substantial ties I don't have any of these either, all i have is my previous years living there but most of these were spent on a 457 and not a PR visa. I tempted to just apply & just beg for leniency given the extreme circumstances, I cant be the only person in this predicament . Who knows if they will take pity on me or not though, its awful but i always worry, i remember all the effort, money and stress my ex and i went through on the pathway to PR, so may hurdles we had to go through - it literally broke us and our relationship and i balled my eyes out n the middle of my workplace when i finally got the email saying it had been approved, it meant so much to me. But now i don't know if i can face begging the Australian government to let me in all over again  with the lets blame the overseas peeps saga thats currently popular i'm feeling quite low, and at the moment and questioning if i even really want to return anymore, if i do return are people going to treat us like leppers and abuse us in the streets?! Im sorry i'm so negative at the moment, so depressed over it all, i know for sure i don't have much fight left in me.

My partner and i joked tonight that if we turn up for our flights and they are cancelled we will just get on a flight to somewhere open in SE Asia and live there forever as backpackers..... it was a joke but i'm thinking maybe its an option..... its probably irresponsible to do at nearly 40 but hey we have no kids, we will both be jobless and homeless anyways... the savings we had to start a life in Australia may as well be spent somewhere other then on an overpriced tiny rental in London thats for sure 

I can’t imagine people will treat you like leppers and abuse you in the streets.  Most people over there are nice, just like most people here are nice 

[RosieH11]

2 minutes ago, ramot said:

Interesting Quoll, I am regularly in touch with my UK friends, and without exception they are all being sensible but also saying things are beginning to get back to some sort of normal, in the last couple of weeks, and they live in many different parts of UK, from the Midlands down to the South. 2 of my friends have even sent photos of finally being finally able to visit the hairdressers. They are all in my age group 70+. 

 

Yes UK is defiantly more relaxed now, over the past 2-3 weeks things are getting back to 'normal' however we are mostly all making efforts to socially distance etc and the general feel from the government and community is we are all in this together, there is no blaming or anger towards certain groups here, not that i have noticed anyway! In comparison to Australia our daily count is high 400-700 cases day, but to us this feels great as we see the numbers dropping fast from 8000+ a day only a month ago. I guess the difference is we here really had a rough time, with a proper lock down and the world ending feeling that came with it, so now its just huge a sense of relief that it seems to be going in the right direction. I can totally understand why Australian government panics at the first sign of an outbreak no matter how small the numbers, at the same time I cant help but wonder how this approach is sustainable in the long term, this virus is not going away anytime soon, we all have to learn to live with it for a while at least. Id be interested to know what the Aussie governments plan is.... right now it feels its to shut off from the rest of the planet for years to come

[ramot]

14 minutes ago, Tulip1 said:

I can’t imagine people will treat you like leppers and abuse you in the streets.  Most people over there are nice, just like most people here are nice 

I agree,

I can’t find the number of Australians who have returned to Australia since the Covid 19 outbreak,, but I read somewhere it’s many many thousands, and that the strain of the cost of quarantining them and now the outbreak in Victoria with the airport closed is why the numbers have now been cut back. It’s very hard for the posters whose lives are now impacted by the changes, especially if they are prepared to pay for their own quarantine.

Edited July 12, 2020 by ramot

[RosieH11]

24 minutes ago, Tulip1 said:

I can’t imagine people will treat you like leppers and abuse you in the streets.  Most people over there are nice, just like most people here are nice 

 i know they are, it's one of the main reasons i loved living there so much. Especially in Queensland, the difference of leaving Heathrow airport and landing to smiling faces in Brisbane is night and day! But it's hard not to worry when the PM keeps pushing this idea and talking about us like we are irresponsible holidaymakers just taking the piss and trying to get a freebie in a 5 star hotel..... saying we had plenty of time to return... really? Maybe those on holiday had plenty of chance to return yes, but those of us needing to uproot a whole life and immigrate across the world during a pandemic certainly didn't and now we have even less opportunity to return and he's still saying it, and seeing the majority of comments agreeing with him and basically telling us tough luck stay out, don't bring your covid here etc. It's just not nice to see it and it is the majority of comments saying this not just 1 or 2 trolls. I have made an effort to stop looking at these comments on social media and news outlets now. its all very depressing

Edited July 12, 2020 by RosieH11

[RosieH11]

25 minutes ago, ramot said:

I agree,

I can’t find the number of Australians who have returned to Australia since the Covid 19 outbreak,, but I read somewhere it’s many many thousands, and that the strain of the cost of quarantining them and now the outbreak in Victoria with the airport closed is why the numbers have now been cut back. It’s very hard for the posters whose lives are now impacted by the changes, especially if they are prepared to pay for their own quarantine.

Yes i think 56000 I read somewhere, i'm totally for quarantine and happy to pay for it, no problem at all with that, I just hope i can get on a flight....It feels like there is an alternate motive and that is not to cap arrivals but to stop them all together, the politicians know its not economically feasible for an airline to fly with only 30-50 people on board, they are fully aware flights will be cancelled.  I guess we shall just have to wait and see how the airlines react to this, i just checked with emirates and they seem to have no flights to anywhere in Australia available to book for the rest on July  I guess i will find out this week if my flight is cancelled . sigh

Edited July 12, 2020 by RosieH11

[Marisawright]

10 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

My wife just did 2 weeks quarantine at the Sheraton in Sydney. They had security guards patrolling every floor and police posted 24 hours in reception - by all accounts it was like Fort Knox. There were hotels in Melbourne with no security guards and they were just relying on CCTV. People were sneaking in and out in the evenings, in addition to fraternisation within the hotels. It's unbelievable that so much money has been spent on quarantining for this to be allowed to happen. The buck stop has to stop somewhere.

I'm sure it wasn't Dan's job to go and visit every hotel to check what the security company was up to.  Have you ever worked in a large company?  The CEO takes the fall, sure, but he's already got a full-time job -  he has to rely on his departments to award the contracts and put systems in place.  They are supposed to be the experts.   

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Nemesis said:

 even though they could quite easily self isolate in their own homes. 

...in theory yes, but remember that NSW tried that and found there was widespread cheating - and that's why we've ended up with the system we have now.   Another case of idiots spoiling it for the rest of us.

Edited July 12, 2020 by Marisawright

[Marisawright]

41 minutes ago, RosieH11 said:

Yes UK is defiantly more relaxed now, over the past 2-3 weeks things are getting back to 'normal' however we are mostly all making efforts to socially distance etc and the general feel from the government and community is we are all in this together, there is no blaming or anger towards certain groups here, not that i have noticed anyway! In comparison to Australia our daily count is high 400-700 cases day... Id be interested to know what the Aussie governments plan is.... right now it feels its to shut off from the rest of the planet for years to come

Well, that's the approach New Zealand is taking and at the moment, it looks like Australia is likely to follow that route.  There's talk of a "bubble" with the borders opening between New Zelaand and other covid-free countries, possibly in September - which at one time would've included Australia, though that's not looking good right now.

IThe UK has 400-700 cases a day spread over the whole country.  We've got over 200 cases a day in one city, and virtually none anywhere else.  The rest of the country is quarantining that city (which is where I live) and that makes sense IMO.  

[Wanderer Returns]

6 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I'm sure it wasn't Dan's job to go and visit every hotel to check what the security company was up to...

Of course not, but a good leader surrounds themselves with a good team and from that perspective he's accountable. Add to that the fact that after 3 months this was the only way the virus was entering Australia and community transmission was all but eradicated, it should've been a far higher priority. A good leader makes informed decisions, not knee-jerk reactions. But what did Dan do then? Stopped all international flights into Melbourne meaning that the brunt was borne by other states, who were not happy about the increased passengers and quaratine costs. The knock-on effect has been the government reducing the number of flights and incoming passengers. Dan Andrews is the one responsible for people in @AliQ's situation who are now getting their flights cancelled - not Scott Morrison.

[RosieH11]

14 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Well, that's the approach New Zealand is taking and at the moment, it looks like Australia is likely to follow that route.  There's talk of a "bubble" with the borders opening between New Zelaand and other covid-free countries, possibly in September - which at one time would've included Australia, though that's not looking good right now.

IThe UK has 400-700 cases a day spread over the whole country.  We've got over 200 cases a day in one city, and virtually none anywhere else.  The rest of the country is quarantining that city (which is where I live) and that makes sense IMO.  

I never said it didn't make any sense, we are doing the exact same thing here - currently our cases are spiking in Leicester the majority of cases are here and this city is now back in lock down. I hope you keep well in Melbourne i'm sure it'l be under control soon

[RosieH11]

15 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Of course not, but a good leader surrounds themselves with a good team and from that perspective he's accountable. Add to that the fact that after 3 months this was the only way the virus was entering Australia and community transmission was all but eradicated, it should've been a far higher priority. A good leader makes informed decisions, not knee-jerk reactions. But what did Dan do then? Stopped all international flights into Melbourne meaning that the brunt was borne by other states, who were not happy about the increased passengers and quaratine costs. The knock-on effect has been the government reducing the number of flights and incoming passengers. Dan Andrews is the one responsible for people in @AliQ's situation who are now getting their flights cancelled - not Scott Morrison.

I don't know too much about Aussie politics these days but it seems that they really don't get along and perhaps this cap on flights is more a political move than anything else. 

Either way these are real peoples lives being affected, knee jerk reaction is a good term for it, it's certainly hard to make any real plans when the rules can change overnight on a dime and have very real consequences 

[Quoll]

1 hour ago, ramot said:

Interesting Quoll, I am regularly in touch with my UK friends, and without exception they are all being sensible but also saying things are beginning to get back to some sort of normal, in the last couple of weeks, and they live in many different parts of UK, from the Midlands down to the South. 2 of my friends have even sent photos of finally being finally able to visit the hairdressers. They are all in my age group 70+. 

The areas of Australia are perhaps very different, but honestly I really haven’t noticed any real change in people’s caring attitude to each other here on the coast. We have kept in touch especially with single people and are just  beginning to see more of each other and so enjoying the contact even if still keeping distance. It’s difficult for large groups to restart like Probus meetings due to spacing constrictions , but we are going on our first trip on Thursday.in separate cars, to Noosa Botanical garden followed by a silent movie at the Majestic Theatre in Pomona and lunch. All carefully organised, and then a Christmas in July lunch 2 weeks later. There are lots of rules to be followed.

We had a Christmas in July BBQ for our small street yesterday, we don’t live in each other’s pockets at all, but do look after each other when needed, and really enjoyed the sense of freedom.

I think there is a sense of ‘anger’ perhaps a slightly too strong a word?  towards Victoria, and a concern that it will spread.

 

Yes, Canberra is pretty insular at the best of times which will certainly impact on the sense of community and I dont think the other big cities are that much different.  None of my UK friends have yet ventured out to the hairdressers but they were happily discussing their mask wearing when one of them was planning to venture to the dentist last week!  One was even planning to take her grandkids to the Botanic Gardens but she was one of the younger ones.  A few have barely left their homes though as many of my friends are not the wellest of people unfortunately. 

Knitting groups have started up again here but I havent been able to get there due to grandparental duties and that does irk a bit! Oh well, I can knit at home huh!

 

[Quoll]

50 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

...in theory yes, but remember that NSW tried that and found there was widespread cheating - and that's why we've ended up with the system we have now.   Another case of idiots spoiling it for the rest of us.

I agree - we self isolated and I was surprised that there were no random checks.  I'd have had the ADF doing those right from day 1.  There was no guidance on masking or onward travel just "well there ya go, stay at home" and that was it.