Stranded Australians

[Wanderer Returns]

14 hours ago, OzinEire said:

As an aussie who has been living abroad but planning to move back home for 2 years now with my family, some of the responses here are a disgrace. People don't want to fly home on the government's dime and skip quarantine and risk the Australian populations health. We just want to come home. We want to be able to book our flights that aren't 10x the normal price because the government has put caps on flights. 

The government's advice in March was come home OR if you have a job and a place to stay overseas, then stay put. People have since lost their jobs due to covid or contracts ending or people have dying family members or an infinite number of other reasons. All of which are actually irrelevant because you should be able to return to your own home country! 

I've been living in various stages of lockdown since March, 2m social distancing everywhere, wearing masks to the shops, on school run, public transport, basically anywhere we could come in contact with people outside our immediate family. The Australian government has turned the general public against people returning from abroad making them out to be a massive risk but in reality we've been living with all these precautions for most of the year. 

To say we should just wait it out for how long??? instead of pointing out the obvious that the government should pull their finger out and listen to the experts they hired for advice on getting aussies back home. They're great at telling you they've helped get 40k aussies home but in reality 95% of those people have got themselves home, not on repatriation flights and the government has put them into quarantine and then gave themselves a pat on the back for doing the whole job. 

So sick of hearing "should've come back in March". 

What you have stated is incorrect. The government advice to Australians since March has always been to get back here ASAP because 'commercial options may become less available'. They have never suggested 'staying put' if your intention was to return to Australia.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-17/coronavirus-australians-should-return-home-from-overseas/12065050

If you'd been following the news here you'd know that the flight caps were introduced as a direct result of the outbreak in Melbourne, which started in quarantine hotels at the end of June, and resulted in roughly 800 of Australia's 900 covid deaths. They reassessed that not every hotel was suitable for quarantine because unfortunately some people just don't do what's expected of them, so now they only use hotels where they can maintain a high level of security, and ensure that everyone stays in their rooms with their immediate family.

When my wife came out of quarantine in July, she was amazed that no one was wearing a mask and everything here in Queensland was just like normal. Shops, bars, restaurants and even nightclubs are now open, and we're all looking forward to spending Christmas with family, and as many friends as we like. This is all thanks to our government and state premiers who made tough decisions early on and stood by them, even when they were ridiculed as being draconian by the media in other parts of the world. Now 25 million Australians are benefitting from that policy. I'm sorry it's inconvenienced you and few thousand other Aussies that have chosen to make their homes overseas (temporarily or otherwise), but on this occasion I'm afraid you're just going to have to take one for the team.

[Loopylu]

16 hours ago, OzinEire said:

My home country is Australia. I just happened to have married someone from a different country. Our plan has always been to raise our children in Australia. The casual racism you're throwing out there has not been missed. 

 

My youngest was 2 months old with no passport and his Australian citizenship took 8 months to be processed. Should I have left him behind because he wasn't "Australian"? It takes 7 months to get pets ready to ship to Australia, should I have left them behind too? 

Don't expect any compassion from the "I'm alright Jack" brigade that post on here. People in this country are selfish beyond belief and only care about their own family and welfare.   If I were you I would stay put in Ireland where the people are much nicer.

[calNgary]

1 hour ago, Loopylu said:

Don't expect any compassion from the "I'm alright Jack" brigade that post on here. People in this country are selfish beyond belief and only care about their own family and welfare.   If I were you I would stay put in Ireland where the people are much nicer.

Err i post on here, have been for years and am the furthest from ''i'm alright Jack'' that you could find, just because one or two may come across the way doesnt mean we are all like that.

 Cal x

[Cal2]

Interesting the comments on here - I guess what some are saying is that if you are abroad and have been unable to get back (even though Scomo said he'd get you back before Christmas)  - its just tough luck. Initial advice was if you had job etc etc stay put - but for many thats changed Im sure many of us thought the situation would be resolved by now. 

Still I guess its like living in the bush with a fire risk or living in a flood area - if your house gets burnt down or you get flooded out - your fellow Aussies aren't going to help - cause you chose to live there. 

 

Not the Aussie spirit I know - you dont just look after yourself 

 

 

 

[Bulya]

4 hours ago, Loopylu said:

Don't expect any compassion from the "I'm alright Jack" brigade that post on here. People in this country are selfish beyond belief and only care about their own family and welfare.   If I were you I would stay put in Ireland where the people are much nicer.

Hilarious...

[Dusty Plains]

59 minutes ago, Cal2 said:

Interesting the comments on here - I guess what some are saying is that if you are abroad and have been unable to get back (even though Scomo said he'd get you back before Christmas)  - its just tough luck. Initial advice was if you had job etc etc stay put - but for many thats changed Im sure many of us thought the situation would be resolved by now. 

Still I guess its like living in the bush with a fire risk or living in a flood area - if your house gets burnt down or you get flooded out - your fellow Aussies aren't going to help - cause you chose to live there. 

 

Not the Aussie spirit I know - you dont just look after yourself 

 

 

 

The question begs, why are they NOW deciding to come back?

Back in March SCOMO advised that expats "should make their way home" and many did. I don't recall SCOMO ever declaring that "he'd get you back before Christmas". Its therefore not a case of "tough luck".  My understanding is that according to some of the experiences as posted here on PIO, that the consular offices and diplomatic missions have been very helpful  and effective in assisting many returnees to Australia.

On the matter being burnt out or flooded, Australians responded in a very charitable way to assist other Australians, particularly during 2019/2020, whether individuals, families or businesses that suffered from fire flood and storm.

That's the Aussie spirit that I know.

   

[calNgary]

1 hour ago, Cal2 said:

 

Still I guess its like living in the bush with a fire risk or living in a flood area - if your house gets burnt down or you get flooded out - your fellow Aussies aren't going to help - cause you chose to live there. 

 

Not the Aussie spirit I know - you dont just look after yourself 

 

 

This is by far the opposite of what i have been involved with or observed in my time here, i have found the Aussies outstanding with their offerings of help.

When the flood wiped out Toowoomba and Gatton, we personally took truck loads of household stuff and toys up there, as did many many other people.

When the floods wiped out Rocklea we personally went helping as many families as we could with the clean up, shovelling sh$t and sludge out of their homes n garages.

When the floods caused Jimboomba to flood, the estate we live on then was turned into an island within a few hours with little warning thanks to a king tide. We personally put our boat in the flood water and ferried people across  9including ambulance personnel) so they could get home or to the hospital, airport or where ever they needed to get too. The following day my son took the boat and did the same as did a few other locals who owned boats.

When the fires wrecked havoc on QLD we donated funds to a couple of different rescue charities helping families out.

Cal x

 

[Cal2]

My point exactly Dusty - you're picking and choosing which Aussies you help - me I help any Aussie stuck - thats the Aussie spirit -  I know Aussies helped each other during fire and floods I was there - but I'll not turn my back on an Aussie - I dont pick and choose -

 

 

[Cal2]

3 minutes ago, calNgary said:

This is by far the opposite of what i have been involved with or observed in my time here, i have found the Aussies outstanding with their offerings of help.

When the flood wiped out Toowoomba and Gatton, we personally took truck loads of household stuff and toys up there, as did many many other people.

When the floods wiped out Rocklea we personally went helping as many families as we could with the clean up, shovelling sh$t and sludge out of their homes n garages.

When the floods caused Jimboomba to flood, the estate we live on then was turned into an island within a few hours with little warning thanks to a king tide. We personally put our boat in the flood water and ferried people across  9including ambulance personnel) so they could get home or to the hospital, airport or where ever they needed to get too. The following day my son took the boat and did the same as did a few other locals who owned boats.

When the fires wrecked havoc on QLD we donated funds to a couple of different rescue charities helping families out.

Cal x

 

you misunderstand calgary - thats my point precisely -  I was there we all helped - no-one left behind as such. So why not help these Aussies stranded abroad - there are flights - theyre just getting bumped because there aren't enough quarantine facilities - what's the difference between these Aussies stranded and those stranded by fire flood etc - in my opinion nothing - we should help them all - theyre not all asking for money - most just want to stop getting bumped off flights because there aren't enough quarantine places

 

[calNgary]

Just now, Cal2 said:

you misunderstand calgary - thats my point precisely -  I was there we all helped - no-one left behind as such. So why not help these Aussies stranded abroad - there are flights - theyre just getting bumped because there aren't enough quarantine facilities - what's the difference between these Aussies stranded and those stranded by fire flood etc - in my opinion nothing - we should help them all - theyre not all asking for money - most just want to stop getting bumped off flights because there aren't enough quarantine places

 

Ah ok, fair enough..

Did they not close some quarantine hotels ?.. By that i mean closed to those wanting quarantine not closed down. I know at the start quite a few Brisbane hotels were being used and now i think there are only 2 in use, could they not arrange for another to be opened and let these residents back in? or is it more an air line problem? Is there not an opportunity for residents to fly into a different state ,do the quarantine and then travel to their home state? 

 Cal x

[Cal2]

definitely a quarantine problem - basically there area maximum of 5000 places per week for the whole country - thats why not everyone could get back initially - some people have been bumped off flights 5 times and your talking a month plus wait each time. 

The airlines only get told 2 days before flying how many they are allowed to land with - this has been as low as 70 and yes, airlines have done this simply to get people home.

Basically the govt dont want people to know that theyre not getting Aussies home - eden when Scomo said come home, by that time - flights had stopped and other countries were going into lockdown

Its not as simple as people should have got on flights as some would like to think 

 

 

[Cal2]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-26/flights-to-be-announced-australians-home-christmas-coronavirus/12923656 

here's the news about getting Aussies home - its not personally a problem for me - but its horrendous for children missing their parents etc

[Paul1Perth]

22 hours ago, OzinEire said:

As an aussie who has been living abroad but planning to move back home for 2 years now with my family, some of the responses here are a disgrace. People don't want to fly home on the government's dime and skip quarantine and risk the Australian populations health. We just want to come home. We want to be able to book our flights that aren't 10x the normal price because the government has put caps on flights. 

 

The government's advice in March was come home OR if you have a job and a place to stay overseas, then stay put. People have since lost their jobs due to covid or contracts ending or people have dying family members or an infinite number of other reasons. All of which are actually irrelevant because you should be able to return to your own home country! 

 

I've been living in various stages of lockdown since March, 2m social distancing everywhere, wearing masks to the shops, on school run, public transport, basically anywhere we could come in contact with people outside our immediate family. The Australian government has turned the general public against people returning from abroad making them out to be a massive risk but in reality we've been living with all these precautions for most of the year. 

 

To say we should just wait it out for how long??? instead of pointing out the obvious that the government should pull their finger out and listen to the experts they hired for advice on getting aussies back home. They're great at telling you they've helped get 40k aussies home but in reality 95% of those people have got themselves home, not on repatriation flights and the government has put them into quarantine and then gave themselves a pat on the back for doing the whole job. 

 

So sick of hearing "should've come back in March". 

 

 

Returning travellers are a massive risk though, unfortunately. Every day the states report numbers and every state, including WA, have reported low numbers of cases recently, all returned travellers in quarantine.

Numbers are limited in quarantine facilities and I don't think tha Australian general public are against returnees at all. If they are it's not the government that have made them that way but the sensationalist media that has to make everything someones fault, never just bad luck or unforeseen circumstance.

[Jon the Hat]

It seems to me if you make your life outside of Australia (as we have) it is not reasonable to expect the Aussie Government to be able to let you in / get you home in any circumstances regardless of the potential risks to the resident population.  You have to accept that in the event on a major event, Pandemic war etc. this might not be possible, or might take some time.  It's unfortunate, but it is a reality.  Governments can't do everything, they have to prioritise.  In this case it seems they had to reduce the quarantine capacity to ensure it was safe.  

[Toots]

58 minutes ago, calNgary said:

Ah ok, fair enough..

Did they not close some quarantine hotels ?.. By that i mean closed to those wanting quarantine not closed down. I know at the start quite a few Brisbane hotels were being used and now i think there are only 2 in use, could they not arrange for another to be opened and let these residents back in? or is it more an air line problem? Is there not an opportunity for residents to fly into a different state ,do the quarantine and then travel to their home state? 

 Cal x

Tasmania has had a flight for returning Australians from India in the past week.  All in hotel isolation in Hobart.  After that they will travel to their home state.

[Wanderer Returns]

6 hours ago, Loopylu said:

Don't expect any compassion from the "I'm alright Jack" brigade that post on here. People in this country are selfish beyond belief and only care about their own family and welfare.      If I were you I would stay put in Ireland where the people are much nicer.

That would seem like a sensible proposition given that the OP has made a life in Ireland with an Irish partner, and has had children there.

[starlight7]

Oh for goodness sake- after 6 long months of isolation and stress we don't have anything left in us and THAT is the reason we fear people coming here.  Nothing racist about it. Just commonsense. Couldn't give a fig whether they are Australians, Chinese, British, American or whatever we just don't want the risk until they have a vaccination. Sorry, but that is how it is just now. No one trusts the government to supervise the isolation after last time and no one trusts the travellers, either.  Totally unjust of course.  Write to your MP.

[Paul1Perth]

5 hours ago, Loopylu said:

Don't expect any compassion from the "I'm alright Jack" brigade that post on here. People in this country are selfish beyond belief and only care about their own family and welfare.   If I were you I would stay put in Ireland where the people are much nicer.

I think they've already decided where is best to bring their kids up. Otherwise they wouldn't be so upset about not getting back.

[Skani]

1 hour ago, calNgary said:

Ah ok, fair enough..

Did they not close some quarantine hotels ?.. By that i mean closed to those wanting quarantine not closed down. I know at the start quite a few Brisbane hotels were being used and now i think there are only 2 in use, could they not arrange for another to be opened and let these residents back in? or is it more an air line problem? Is there not an opportunity for residents to fly into a different state ,do the quarantine and then travel to their home state? 

 Cal x

It's both an airline problem and a quarantine problem.  Most airlines stopped flying to Australia because normal passenger numbers (tourists, business people etc.) dropped so dramatically.  Then the Australian government imposed restrictions on the number of passengers entering the country each week due to limits on quarantine hotels.  Plus airlines have had to impose - or should have imposed - physical distancing in aircraft so have not had full passenger loads.

Many arrivals have had to quarantine initially in their arrival state which was not their destination state ( so some had to quarantine a second time in their destination state).  It was up to each state as to how many quarantine hotels they could offer and support with security and health personnel.

[NicF]

While I have a lot of sympathy for those stuck overseas I fully support the hotel quarantine thing and if the states can only offer a limited number of hotel quarantine places safely then I fully support that as well.  Experience has shown that the virus can escape the facilities and I support the states to do what ever they need to to ensure the facilities are safe and contain the virus.  I do think the federal government could have done more to help prioritise who gets the places on the planes and in the hotel quarantine to ensure that those returnees most in need get to come home first rather than being allocated based on who can pay most for the flights.  Although I suspect many of those complaining on forums such as this would not be at the top of that queue either.

[mt9754]

Yes, it’s 100% a failure of the national cabinet that so many Australians are stuck abroad.  When Victoria went into lockdown the other states ran away from the problem instead of doubling down on quarantine capacity.

Anyway, anyone still abroad - make sure you get a Phizer or AstraZenica vaccine over the next few months.  Rumours are that you will be able to skip hotel quarantine if you’ve had it.  From what i’ve read, Qantas expect flights to return in earnest starting June (they previously said October)

[Marisawright]

14 minutes ago, mt9754 said:

Anyway, anyone still abroad - make sure you get a Phizer or AstraZenica vaccine over the next few months.  Rumours are that you will be able to skip hotel quarantine if you’ve had it.  From what i’ve read, Qantas expect flights to return in earnest starting June (they previously said October)

I hope the rumour is not true. 

Both are vaccines, but they're probably not immunisations.  What that means:  We know that a person who gets vaccinated won't get Covid, or will get only a mild case.  However, it's likely that person can still carry Covid and transmit it to other people.   So even vaccinated people will have to quarantine.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Marisawright

[rtritudr]

15 hours ago, calNgary said:

Ah ok, fair enough..

Did they not close some quarantine hotels ?.. By that i mean closed to those wanting quarantine not closed down. I know at the start quite a few Brisbane hotels were being used and now i think there are only 2 in use, could they not arrange for another to be opened and let these residents back in? or is it more an air line problem? Is there not an opportunity for residents to fly into a different state ,do the quarantine and then travel to their home state? 

 Cal x

I don't think there is an airline capacity issue.  Any perceived capacity issue is simply a result of a lack of quarantine capacity.  Each state maintains a quota for quarantine capacity based on what they can safely deliver.  You definitely don't want to flood any state with more passengers than they can safely accommodate.

[Marisawright]

8 minutes ago, rtritudr said:

I don't think there is an airline capacity issue.  Any perceived capacity issue is simply a result of a lack of quarantine capacity. 

I'm 99% sure you are right. I recall there was a bunfight early on, with the airlines and the Federal government complaining the states weren't offering enough quaratine capacity.  

I think the states' reluctance was because originally, they were footing the bill.  Now they're charging, you'd think they could ramp it up a lot - however, since the Victorian enquiry, I think the states are terrified of being pilloried if there's a major virus escape from the hotels, so they're being extra vigilant.  And after all the bad publicity about private security, that means using police and defence personnel, and that means there must be staffing constraints.

Edited December 15, 2020 by Marisawright

[MacGyver]

58 minutes ago, mt9754 said:

Yes, it’s 100% a failure of the national cabinet that so many Australians are stuck abroad.  When Victoria went into lockdown the other states ran away from the problem instead of doubling down on quarantine capacity.

Anyway, anyone still abroad - make sure you get a Phizer or AstraZenica vaccine over the next few months.  Rumours are that you will be able to skip hotel quarantine if you’ve had it.  From what i’ve read, Qantas expect flights to return in earnest starting June (they previously said October)

The other states increased international passenger arrivals in response to Melbourne's inability to receive its share of passengers. PErhaps they could have doen more, but its not true to say that they ran away from the problem.