Thread: Corona Virus

Yes, quite a whiny opinion piece with no real effort gone into understanding all the reasons and using the situation to pull the old xenophobia card - which has nothing to do with them not being able to get back here - tells a whole other story IMO. Feel sorry for the Italians who are putting up with her.

Whinging? Geez heartless! Maybe Qantas hasn’t rorted JobKeeper / flight prices, I’m not sure? But that’s not my point anyway.

Overall the priorities in expenditure of tax payers money has been disgusting and not in support of tax payers, but corporate greed.

There are more than 30,000 people who can’t get home, largely because they can’t afford the exorbitant prices being charged for limited seats. Yes quotas are low because of Pfizer stuff up and poor quarantine. But if tbe over $4billion of JobKeeper hadn’t gone to big business that didn’t need it, Australia could have brought all citizens home for a reasonable price & built dedicated quarantine facilities to house them.

I’m tired of listening to apologists for corporate greed in this pandemic. Australian Citizens are being financially discriminated against left right and centre in this global pandemic. It’s disgusting and it’s unAustralian.

Not heartless, but pragmatic. I have every sympathy for those wanting to get home that can't but I don't think her opinion piece did her any favours from where I sit and not bringing into the conversation some actual facts to support her argument but going on a xenophobic tangent just to have a dig at the Government will mean those higher up will have a similar opinion of her - which also won't help her cause. She comes across as a bit of a Karen IMO.

Not arguing about jobkeeper - where did I say that? I think every business that received it should be carefully audited and all over payments returned, but we know that will never happen. Keep the issues separate - jobkeeper has nothing to do with not being able to bring people home - it's mostly the very low intake rates from the States, which I 100% agree with as pretty much all our problems at the moment and recent past have come out of hotel quarantine (or dodgy removalists from Sydney but that's a different sore point)

Qantas could hardly be accused of profiteering at the moment while having so many planes not in the sky, I think they are just trying to cover flight costs as best they can - as mentioned, with so few on the plane each time ticket prices aren't going to be what they are with every flight filled to capacity - simple math that one is.

The states didn't cut the entry numbers because of Australians coming home, it was because there was a big rise since April in the number of non-Australians the federal government was allowing in, who were filling the quarantine hotels.
Total arrivals rose by 60,000 in May and most of the increase was short-term arrivals. Figures are here:

Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, May 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

The states didn't cut the entry numbers because of Australians coming home, it was because there was a big rise since April in the number of non-Australians the federal government was allowing in, who were filling the quarantine hotels.
Total arrivals rose by 60,000 in May and most of the increase was short-term arrivals. Figures are here:

Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, May 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics

It seems to overwhelming majority of those trips are from NZ .... travel bubble I think.

Australian tax income is one pool of funds, one ecosystem, that is supposed to be managed for the benefit of all citizens. It’s not supposed to be a slush fund for corporate greed.

When $4.5 billion in Covid JobKeeper (Tax Payers Funds) is given to corporates who didn’t need it [when it could have been paid in JobKeeper to gig economy workers (casuals across many sectors who were deemed ineligible) and to fund Qantas, or whoever, the Australian Airforce perhaps? to bring stranded Australians home] we have a massive problem with our democracy. And hence a massive problem with our National covid response.

Originally Posted by SpudHeadTed

Australian tax income is one pool of funds, one ecosystem, that is supposed to be managed for the benefit of all citizens. It’s not supposed to be a slush fund for corporate greed.

When $4.5 billion in Covid JobKeeper (Tax Payers Funds) is given to corporates who didn’t need it [when it could have been paid in JobKeeper to gig economy workers (casuals across many sectors who were deemed ineligible) and to fund Qantas, or whoever, the Australian Airforce perhaps? to bring stranded Australians home] we have a massive problem with our democracy.

Then run for Office yourself and change the system. That’s the beauty of a democracy- anyone can have a go.

Originally Posted by SBD4

It seems to overwhelming majority of those trips are from NZ .... travel bubble I think.

Yep, looking at the exact same figures Mick posted it seems over 95% of them are residents returning from NZ from short term trips so nothing to do with hotel quarantine.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

The states didn't cut the entry numbers because of Australians coming home, it was because there was a big rise since April in the number of non-Australians the federal government was allowing in, who were filling the quarantine hotels.
Total arrivals rose by 60,000 in May and most of the increase was short-term arrivals. Figures are here:

Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, May 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics

As always Mick - don’t let the facts get in the way of your mock outrage.