MEDIA RELEASE BY LABOR
SENATOR KRISTINA KENEALLY
DEPUTY LABOR LEADER IN THE SENATE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES
MICHELLE ROWLAND MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS
MEMBER FOR GREENWAY
LABOR MOTION CALLING FOR MORE HELP TO AUSSIES IN INDIA PASSES SENATE
A Labor motion calling for greater help to stranded Australians trying to return home for India has passed the Senate 28-22 votes.
9,500 Aussies are stranded in India and want to come home.
950 of those are considered vulnerable and tragically 173 are unaccompanied children.
Labor’s Urgency Motion called for: “helping Aussies in India return, not jailing them; and fixing our quarantine system rather than leaving our fellow Australians stranded.”
Sadly, only two Senators from the Liberal National Party voted in support of the motion.
Banning Australian citizens trying to return home from India and threatening them with jail and fines is unprecedented.
But it didn’t have to be this way. If the Morrison Government had not failed in its responsibility for quarantine than more stranded Australians would have been able to get home safely. This must be fixed.
We need to be doing all we can to help these vulnerable Australians in COVID-ravaged India get home safely.
Attribute to Senator Kristina Keneally:
Kristina Keneally
“The Liberals and Nationals voted overwhelmingly against this motion calling for help to Aussies in India trying to return home – what a disgrace.
“We need to be finding ways of getting stranded Australians home safely, not threatening them with jail.
“The best way of protecting Australians is through a proper national quarantine system and by getting on with the vaccine rollout.
“In India, more than 22 million have had the virus and more than 240,000 have lost their lives – this is a terrible tragedy.
“My heart goes out to Australia’s Indian community.
Attribute to Michelle Rowland MP:
Michelle Rowland
“The Indian-Australian community contribute so much to Australia.
“I know this is a very difficult time for people who have family and loved ones trapped in India.
“We should be doing what we can to help India – including by getting stranded Aussies home – as safely as possible.”
WEDNESDAY, 12 MAY 202
