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Australian residents and citizens who have been in India will be banned from entering Australia as of Monday, 3 May, and those who disobey will face fines and jail, government officials said.
The temporary “emergency determination”, issued late on Friday, is the first time Australia has made it a criminal offence for its citizens to return home.
The move is part of strict measures to stop travellers to Australia from the world’s second-most populous nation as it contends with a surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths.
Health minister Greg Hunt announced that anyone attempting to defy the new rules would be hit with fines of up to 66,600 Australian dollars ($51,800), five years in prison, or both, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Australians traveling from India treated as criminals
May 1, 2021
A temporary emergency declaration was announced yesterday that goes into effect starting Monday, May 3.
Some are calling the move racist and outrageous.
This temporary “emergency determination” issued late on Friday is the first time Australia has made it a criminal offence for its citizens to return home. Any Australian resident or citizen trying to return from India will be banned from entering their home country and may also face fines and jail time.
The move is part of strict measures to stop travelers to Australia from the world’s second most populous nation as it contends with a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
The 37-year-old’s name is currently undisclosed and his cause of death unverified.
In Victoria, a man died late Monday in Port Phillip Prison, Truganina, west of Melbourne.
The Australian Associated Press reported his death was related to a medical episode. The family of the unidentified man were notified and a Smoking Ceremony is being arranged, according to a Department of Communities and Justice spokesperson.
“We recognise that all deaths in custody have impacts on family members, friends, corrections staff, victims of crime, and the Aboriginal community,” the spokesperson said.
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe described the slew of Indigenous deaths in custody this year as a “national crisis” on Twitter.