Australia says chance of jail remote for India travel ban offenders
By Renju Jose
Reuters
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, under pressure to overturn rules barring travel from COVID-ravaged India, said on Tuesday it was highly unlikely travellers would face maximum penalties of five years jail and a A$66,000 ($51,000) fine.
Australia last week banned all travellers from India, including its own citizens, from entering the country until May 15 due to the surge in COVID-19 cases there, and warned offenders will be prosecuted and penalised.
The temporary restrictions have been excoriated by lawmakers, expatriates and the Indian diaspora. I don t think it would be fair to suggest these penalties in their most extreme forms are likely to be placed anywhere, but this is a way to ensure we can prevent the virus coming back, Morrison told local broadcaster Channel Nine.
IPL 2021: Bad news for Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell as Cricket Australia said this
IPL 2021: Bad news for Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell as Cricket Australia said this
Last week it was announced by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that a ban on passenger flights from India will remain in place till May 15.
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Updated: May 4, 2021, 08:19 AM IST
In a bad news for Australian cricketers playing in IPL 2021, Cricket Australia interim CEO Nick Hockley on Monday (May 3) said that the CA has no immediate plans for arranging charter flights to bring back Australian players after the conclusion of IPL 2021.
Image credit: Michael Slater s Twitter handle
MELBOURNE: Cricket-turned-commentator Michael Slater has left the IPL s bio-bubble and flown to Maldives after Australia suspended flights from India till May 15 because of the unprecedented rise in COVID-19 cases there. The Australian newspaper reported that Slater has escaped to Maldives after the government made it clear that Australians, who are engaged in the IPL will have to make their own arrangements to return.
It was after reaching Maldives that Slater launched a scathing Twitter attack on Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for not allowing its citizens to return from India, calling the travel ban a disgrace .
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Members of the Indian-Australian community have expressed outrage over the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by both the West Australian and Federal government.
They have also raised concerns over the WA Premier Mark McGowan discussing the circumstances of a man at the centre of the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
The West Australian first published details of the man last week, revealing he’d travelled to get married in India last December before returning in April and testing positive for the virus while in hotel quarantine in Perth.
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When asked by the paper about the man’s situation, the Department of Home Affairs said it does comment on individual cases.
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