Andrew Taylor & Tammy Mills, in Sydney Morning Herald, 11 July 2020, with this title
Australians living overseas have criticised the Morrison government’s decision to make it harder to return home, while forcing people to pay for two weeks in quarantine has been labelled as “almost cruel”.
Matthew Spence worked in the aviation industry in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, until he was made redundant on June 30. Mr Spence said flights from Malaysia to Sydney were sparse, and he was booked on the first available flight on July 18. “I am concerned that the intake cut will result in flight cancellations, further adding to the stress of Aussies trying to return,” Mr Spence said. “If you are an Australian citizen you have the expectation that you can always return home when you need to.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered airlines to slash the number of flights and available seats to Australia from Monday to reduce the number of international arrivals in a bid to relieve pressure on hotel quarantine.
