Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given some ground to states in his push to allow more Australians to come home from overseas.
Yesterday Mr Morrison said « the decision has been made » to allow an additional 2,000 people into Australia from next Friday, despite needing states and territories to agree to lift the number of people they can host in hotel quarantine.
But Mr Morrison today said the cap would be raised gradually over the coming weeks, after Queensland and Western Australia asked for more time to boost their capacity.
Under the plan, NSW, WA and Queensland will all be quarantining an additional 500 returned travellers per week by October 12.
But it will take a while for them to get there, with the increases to be phased in gradually from September 28.
« NSW will move to take an additional 500 by Monday week [September 28] … Queensland and Western Australia on that same day will be taking an additional 200 per week. »
Queensland will then accept 300 extra per week on top of that from October 5, followed by Western Australia doing the same on October 12.
South Australia has already agreed to boost its capacity by 360 each week, and discussions are continuing with other jurisdictions.
The Prime Minister also noted the group had spoken about a draft report by former health secretary Jane Halton into quarantine systems around the country.
While he would not say what specific comments Ms Halton had about quarantine operations, he said « the overall report was good ».
« She will now be moving to finalise that report and she’s providing that feedback directly to each of the states and territories, » Mr Morrison said.
« But her report today was a positive one about the standard of [those] quarantine arrangements that are now in place. »
Following on from Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia, NSW will now also receive the paid pandemic leave disaster payment from the Commonwealth.
« That ensures when someone has a positive COVID test, they can get access to those payments, » Mr Morrison said.
The payment means people who have to isolate because of coronavirus could be eligible for $1,500 if they have used up their sick leave entitlements and have to take time off work.
The Prime Minister also said he expected Queensland to « follow shortly » once an agreement was finalised between the two governments.
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SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
