Disagree! There's around 4000 Aussies who chose during a pandemic to go to India and around 25 million who chose to stay at home!

The interests of the 25 million are more important than those few, who for the most part were chasing dollars! And the Indian variant covid is far more virulent than any other we know of, thus far!

It's that variant we don't want to import or those who may be infected with it! Regardless of race, colour or creed!

That said if we had Island quarantine on as many of the uninhabited as we have? We could evacuate all of them via Christmas Island as a fully vaccinated transition point!

And then chopper them to their quarantine island foreshores to spend the next 28 days slumming it in an air-conditioned glam tent n a sandy foreshore?

Our defence force could do the required logistics and man any RAPs required! Anyone too sick cold be choppered to a hospital ship or one with an appropriately appointed sickbay!

Small desal plants could be temporary position and ditto generators. Food and fuel could be ferried via drones from supply vessels.

Alternatively, these folk can relocate to the Maldives or Shri Lanka for 14-28 days then after several negative covid tests are allowed to return to 28 days home isolation assisted with temporary ankle bracelets?

The worst affected nations have one thing in common, hard-right leaders who see people as mere numbers and always put the economy ahead of humans! And by and large, not too bright? Plus a large cohort of arrogant rich who support them and their exploitive inhumane policies!

Point that accusing finger there, if the truth of it all matters!

The results speak for themselves and in volumes!
Alan B.

The foregoing comment was autocorrected by Grammarly, thus could became cold, along with several, other corrections. You'll see them and understand just how good Grammarly is at trying to eff up the text! So helpful, Da?
Alan B.

How many Australians do NOT regard citizens of convenience who keep swanning back to their place of birth as "fellow citizens"? I'll put my hand up first. One of the few sensible things that the Morrison government did was to stop flights from India. Given his lack of fortitude, his resolve won't last long under pressure from lefty ratbags.

We "we lost our moral compass" when we started mass immigration and multiculturalism, that will eventually see us losing all the advantages of being a Western, First World country.

"We haven't experienced the overwhelming demand on our health services that Europe, the US, and now India have had to deal with during the pandemic", says this woman. That's because we are an island with a relatively small population. Listen to her and others like her, and that will change!

"Australia has become a sick society". What rubbish! It's lefty sociologists like this one who are the sickos, drumming up hatreds against their own country and society.

And, it's stiff cheese for real Australians wanting to come and go when they please too.

I disagree.

Being a member of a nation-state entitles you to the protection of that state when you're in it. If you put yourself outside the protection of the state, you take the risk. It is neither ethical nor practical to expect to impose on the residents, the costs of your expatriating yourself, contracting some risk, and then expecting by right to come back and have everyone else pay for it.

Taiwan had very little trouble with covid, and that's because they shut the gate to stop infected persons coming in as soon as they knew about it.

That's what Australia should have done.

Before any case entered Australia, they should have stopped people coming from infected areas durr. But how mad is it to let 'em in, and then try to quarantine the whole population, making no distinction of sick versus healthy? Criminal.

I'm not a doctor, but I knew that covid is deadly and infections BEFORE the first case entered Australia. I advised the PM, by shouting at the internet, "SHUT THE BLOODY GATE!".

So what excuse does the Chief Medical Officer have? None. The primary mistake they made was letting people in. This invalidates entirely any presumption of government's superior knowledge, caring, or competence in covid policy.

What is really an abuse is preventing healthy Australians from leaving. What is this, a prison?

If it's a right of sick citizens to come in and infect others with a deadly plague, how can it not be a right of healthy citizens to leave? There should be no need for them prove anything. The government just needs to let 'em know they won't be allowed back in unless they can prove they are not infected.

It is not surprising that many in our international community have lost respect for the 'lucky country down under'.
Jane Hasler,
Most of these "Australians" are only Australian for convenience & not allegiance. Many have been out of Australia for several years & contributed nothing here.
So, in regard of having lost respect I can only say good ! They never respected Australians anyway, only what they have to offer when things don't work out overseas !

What is more anathema to OLO's Bloke-ocracy than the Author description:

"Jane Hasler is a sociologist... has taught within Social Sciences at universities...and is now speaking, writing and researching re' preventing a range of social issues, three main ones being bullying, suicide, and male violence."

Truth be known: Australian officials announced 5 May that Australia had shipped urgent medical supplies to India. See http://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/australia-ships-medical-supplies-to-india-vaccines-to-timor-leste-fiji/ of May 5:

...Australia will deliver essential medical supplies to India to support that country’s program for combatting the country’s current COVID-19 outbreak. A chartered Qantas flight departed Sydney carrying supplies to meet the needs identified by the government of India including 1,056 ventilators and 43 oxygen concentrators. This will allow Indian frontline workers to provide lifesaving medical interventions. These Australian donated supplies will be distributed by the Indian Red Cross and local authorities to ensure support reaches those in greatest need.

...as close friends and strategic partners, Australia and India will stand together during this challenging time. “India has shown great leadership and generosity to the world in exporting vaccines globally. It is time for the world to repay that generosity and Australia as a close friend of the Indian people is playing its part,” [Aus Foreign Minister Marise] Payne said. “We express our solidarity and deepest support with India as it responds to this ongoing crisis and recognise how difficult this time is for Indians and Australians in India and their loved ones.”

Hunt said the government had offered a significant package of support to the Indian government. “We are deeply passionate about supporting people in India, which is why we have reached out to support with medical supplies such as oxygen, ventilators and PPE,” Hunt said. “At the same time we are working on plans to resume travel from India to support Australians to get home.”

So there Ms Hasler - the author.

Peter Piper Pepper

Well what do you know, some sociologist has decided that the “rights” of a few people who chose to visit India for financial gain, or personal pleasure outweigh those who sensibly stayed home.

Well sorry love, but the math just doesn’t work. The safety of 25 million far outweighs that of 4000 or so who left of their own free will.

I have no problem with them coming back, after they are proven free of infection. If there are other countries who for financial gain, will allow them to quarantine, in acceptable to us conditions, so we can be sure they are not introducing a new strain to Oz, fine, but otherwise they have no legitimate claim to be allowed back to endanger the whole population.

It is up to these people to prove they are fit to return, not for the rest of us to gamble on their virus free status.

What a total load of garbage.
I personally think all the people with this 'How dare I be put out' attitude are completely off their rockers.

Like seriously, the author whinges about Aussies not being allowed home, but every freaking time restrictions are swept aside for an individuals best interests, then its our whole nations best interest that has to pay.

How long has our nation have to be held ransome to return travellers?
Why can't we just shoot them.
I'm sick of all this COVID CRAP.

Don't bloody whinge to me about a 'woman in her forties with end stage breast cancer who was not allowed to quarantine in her house by the sea';
- when in the same bloody mouthful your advocating people come home to Australia from India.

It's people like you talking out both sides of your mouth thinking we can all have our cakes and eat it too;

- Can't understand that YOU YOURSELF ARE THE PROBLEM
- You want people coming back from India, creating a risk, but you don't want to pay the price that goes along with it, and that's the quarantines, lockdowns and restrictions that have gone on for too long.

Also FYI most of what you're saying is wrong.
You said we had adequete PPE.
We didn't most of it got used during the 2019 bushfires, so we were short.

"It appears our federal and state government leaders have often stooped to gain political brownie points with their 'Keeping Australians safe' rhetoric. Or 'Keeping Queenslanders safe', or 'West Australians safe', and so on. Much of it has been divisive rhetoric, seemingly devoid of empathy and compassion, which has pitted many of our citizens against each other."

How dare you rubbish my Premier for keeping me safe?
Why don't you just get lost, and go to India.

All you University people are bloody mentalcases, by normal peoples standards.
You've all lost your minds and you do more harm in society than good.

We haven't experienced the overwhelming demand on our health services that Europe, the US, and now India have had to deal with during the pandemic.

Really?
That's why doctors and nurses are leaving in unprecedented levels and the health system is barely coping?
- They're burnt out, carried the burden too much and they're quitting.
Why? Because people like yourself don't care how hard they have to work or how much continual risk they have to face because of your do-gooder 'Bring them all home' attitude?

What about everyone else?
Do you think it's not a 6hr wait to be seen if you go to 'emergency' now?
I bet you don't have to rely on the public health system of wait for 6hrs in emergency do you?

"It is not surprising that many in our international community have lost respect for the 'lucky country down under'."

- Little Miss La-Dee-Da University Type and your 'International Community'
Why don't you go live elsewhere then, in one of those 'International communitunies' that obviously means more to you personally than you think our country does to us?

2021 Should be the year of University Faculty Mental Illness

- BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT! -

Pffffttt.
...Whinge about restrictions and demand people come back from India
Seriously people have gone completely mad during Covid I think.

- That's the most logical thing I see if I stand back and try to take it all in.

For my part, I totally agree with the comments made by the author and admire her for highlighting the other side of the COVID restrictions. And noting that the other comments being made so far are clearly missing the point being raised - nothing is being suggested to expose our country to infection spread which obviously relies on testing at the source and effective quarantine rather than not supporting specific needs of individuals which CAN be accommodated. Likewise we CAN safely support our returning citizens (and interstate travel) which is by now well understood. The focus on humanity and humane policies is the clear thrust of the article and quite rightly we ALL need to be careful not to lose sight of this. "My premier protecting me" as one comment reads is such a self-centred "Me first" perspective.

It is heartening to see the responses of most posters here to this woman's nonsense.

First of all. The PM announced earlier today, we will be reopening to India when Howard Springs is ready. In a few days! So, settle down children!

Until then the rich whinging Aussie whites can shelter in place or elsewhere! You needed little arm trusting to go there just a few weeks ago! Right?

43 ventilators? OMG, how generous! Can we spare so much " Christen" generosity?

That said stand by earlier commentary!
Alan B.

.. the other side of the COVID restrictions.
ChangeMaker,
There is no other side. Either we try to deal with COVID or we don't !

9,000 fellow Australian citizens stranded in India

Do we know how (or if) many of these are dual Nationality citizens ?