Govt expected to further reduce international arrivals to Australia

CANBERRA, Jul 10, 2020, 9News. The Federal Government has flagged the number of people entering Australia could be further cut to ease the burden on states and territories running hotel quarantine, 9News reported.

The National Cabinet meeting today is expected to discuss slashing the number of people coming into Australia even further after the figure was initially reduced in March as the pandemic took off.

Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge told Today the move would help states and territories overseeing hotel quarantine.

“Australians and permanent residents always have a right to come back to Australia. That’s your right as a citizen or as a permanent resident,” Mr Tudge said.

“But they do have to come through the quarantining arrangements and obviously there is a limit in terms of how many people can come through each day. Now, that’s going to be discussed again at the National Cabinet today.”

Some states have introduced caps on the number of international arrivals they will accept every week, and Victoria has halted all international arrivals into the state.

NSW announced a cap of 450 international passenger arrivals into Sydney Airport each day.

The ADF is being mobilised in each state and territory to help police officers enforce strict quarantine measures on new arrivals into the country.

International arrivals into Australia have slowed to a trickle since quarantine measures were brought into effect in March.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was concerned about the burden placed on states and territories for running hotel quarantine that lasts two weeks.