Sky News Australia published this video item, entitled “Federal opposition ‘trying to play partisan politics’ over stranded Australians” – below is their description.
As thousands of Australians remain desperate to come back home the federal opposition has “tried to play really partisan politics” out of the situation says Sky news host Chris Kenny. “There are thousands of Aussies desperate to come home and the number is growing,” Mr Kenny said. “But it is proving extremely difficult to get here and a parliamentary committee has heard some of their anger and frustration,” he said. “The federal opposition, the Labor Party, has tried to play really partisan politics out of this, blaming the federal government for not chartering more planes to fly Aussies home. “This is despite the fact that the government has already done precisely that,” he said. It comes as a repatriation flight from Singapore which was “organised and underwritten by the government” with 150 passengers onboard landed in Canberra today. They are now headed into quarantine in the ACT. “Despite these efforts, Labor has been drawing a link with the fact a RAAF VIP jet is being used to ferry former finance minister Mathias Cormann around Europe, lobbying for him and Australia to get the top job at the OECD,” Mr Kenny said. “As if that somehow is happening instead of bringing people home”. “Mr Kenny said Labor’s attacks have been “way off the mark”. “The issue is not a lack of planes,” he said. “The problem, the constraint, is at our end, the problem is the limits on quarantine places in Australia. “And the biggest blow to those numbers has been the complete stuff up in Labor run Victoria, which has meant international arrivals and quarantine have been out of action at our second biggest city for months, denying a return to home for thousands of Australians. “If Albanese is disgusted about not getting Aussies home he ought to take it up with Daniel Andrews. “He could throw in Liberal premier of SA Steven Marshall too, after he panicked and shut down international arrivals.” Mr Kenny also said, “the real answer here is to change our quarantine processes, not make them tougher and more difficult, the way the states want to go, but to make them easier”. “It is time to find a quicker, less onerous quarantine process for international arrivals. “It is time to fight back against the COVID xenophobia.”
Sky News Australia YouTube Channel
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