Deal to take UK arrivals

150 in quarantine clears space for Afghan refugees

TASMANIA will host 150 Australians returning from the United Kingdom in hotel quarantine to help free up capacity interstate for Afghan refugees, state parliament has heard.

Acting Premier Jeremy Rockliff said a flight would arrive in Hobart on Sunday.

“I can confirm that our dedicated international seasonal worker and quarantine hotel, the Ibis, will be used to take on returning Australians from the United Kingdom, around 150 people,” he told parliament. “This will free up hotel space in other jurisdictions for incoming Afghan people.

“That flight will arrive on Sunday, the fifth of September.”

Mr Rockliff said public health authorities were preparing for the flight’s arrival.

“It is considered, from a Covid perspective, that those coming from the UK — due to high vaccination rates — should be of lower risk than those coming from Kabul,” he said. “However, it is not without risk and we will need to be prepared for a potential case of Covid from this flight.”

Mr Rockliff said passengers would be tested before arrival and tested several times subsequently.

And the government would also provide increased funding to migrant assistance organisations to help with increased support to Tasmania’s Afghan community.

There were 161 people in hotel quarantine on Sunday, all of them in the state’s south, official figures show.

The state government backed out of a pledge to host its “fair share” of Australians returning from overseas in

January after four positive Covid-19 tests among passengers on the first of three planned repatriation flights.

Instead, Tasmania made a deal with Victoria in which that state would take returnees and Tasmania would host quarantine for 1500 low-risk Pacific Island seasonal workers bound for Victorian farms in the first half of 2021.

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said Tasmania should welcome its share of refugees.

“We encourage the Gutwein government to make it clear to the federal government that those fleeing Afghanistan are always warmly welcome, and we stand ready to accept refugees in the weeks and months ahead,” she said.

“Tasmania is a warm and welcoming place. The state government should be encouraging resettlement on our island for as many Afghanis as possible.”