Coronavirus - Australia
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@Nevorian said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@Nepia my experience of Tweed and Coolangatta was trying to determine where the border actually was. I recall at the airport you can actually land in NSW and disembark in Queensland
Yeah, the runway crosses the border but all the terminals are in Qld.
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Getting a refund for the AirNZ trips via Expedia. Twelve hundy back in the sky rocket.
Hopefully the motel stay we booked for the first night as well. TBH I'd be happy to part with that as it's only $150, and small business could probably use it.
Next trip overseas is unknown at this point but it'll either be 2 weeks in NZ seeing awesomeness, or a few nights in Fiji during in a pool drinking cocktails.
In the meantime, explore domestic options 🤔
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@Siam said in Coronavirus - Australia:
Wife trip update
Fucked over at the first checkin. No non Singaporeans allowed to board, even for transit. All legs of the trip useless. Back to square one.
Would have been nice if somewhere during booking, such information came up.
Or the Singaporean official who rang the wife yesterday on her Thai phone number confirming her booking ( with her Thai passport acknowledged) from sing to Sydney might have mentioned she wouldn't get in from Bangkok.
Oh well time to look for plan b....
Here's a wee glimpse into the International travel conditions from 2 Fridays ago.
After the set back above, (still wondering why they allowed ticket purchases for an airport only serving Singaporeans), we had 2 options: Bkk to Seoul, Seoul to Jakarta, Jakarta to Melbourne. 35 hours all up, 3 airlines, or Bkk to Doha, Doha to Mel. 1 Airline and 45 hours. The Jakarta bit worried me and Qatar were showing regular scheduled flights on time through the week. Paid 3 grand for the same cancelled jetstar flight that charged $264, i.e. Bkk to mel.
Qatar was reliably flying and looked to be operating service help in some capacity. I booked with 2 days to iron the thorny part of the trip - the first check in. The department of Home Affairs had issued the wife the following exemption from travel restrictions into Australia and instructions for the check in, via email.
It reads: "*I refer to your enquiry via the online Australian immigration enquiry form.
Thank you for providing the required documents to demonstrate you are an immediate family member of an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident.
I have considered your documents and determined that you are exempt from Australia’s travel restrictions.
This exemption has been recorded in our systems and you may now travel to Australia while your current visa is valid. There is no documentation I can provide you to guarantee entry in to Australia - Australia’s visa system is electronic and your details are recorded.
Please note that when you arrive at the airport, the check-in procedure may take a little longer than usual as the airline will need to contact Australia’s Border Operation Centre (the Airline will have the phone number) to get approval for you to board the plane.* "
Despite these comprehensive assurances, any world traveler worth his salt knows that the pinch point is getting the boarding pass(es). The incongruity of a non Australian Passport holder trying to fly to a country in a climate of "only citizens can enter" is always going to be a bottle neck at check in. "You can't go to Australia, you're not Australian"
And so it proved.
In the 2 days after purchasing the tickets I wrote to Qatar asking them to verify the check in process and the Home Affairs info to ensure she doesn't get turned away unnecessarily. I phoned the Qatar office in Sydney more than 50 times on thurs and fri before the Friday check in at 6pm AEST. Phone rang out after the prompts everytime. Never spoke to or communicated with a human in a week before the flight, despite having a booking number and paid ticket.
So with trepidation the wife goes to check in. 12 passengers on the flight. 1 young check in girl. Wife puts me on facebook messenger video and I watch this check in chick screaming at the wife to "go away. No visa stapled into the passport, no boarding pass. No I will not ring anyone. You can have the prime minister on the phone and I'll still not speak! Go Away!
Fuck me, not again??!!
Aww shit, now I'll have to come up with plan C
I asked the wife if there was anyone else to speak to (you know that middle aged supervisor that hovers around the check in during normal times?), but alas in a deserted airport there is no one else. Literally no one.
The wife mentioned she'd have one more go and I'd given up, and extremely irate.
20 minutes later, extreme elation as there she was in the departure gate with 2 boarding passes and a triumphant grin!
Turns out she went down the police station, asked for help and somehow, acting with no authority at all, Sergeant Surasak got the check in hitler to allow boarding!!! IThat wee cop was quite simply the difference between success and failure. The weight of the Australian government behind us and the only way it happens is because a bored cop decides to help someone in a logical situation. Bravo Surasak!! I know his name because I'm going to find him and a case of whiskey is coming his way.Now it's a 7 hour flight to Doha and then 23 hours and 59 minutes stopover in Doha airport before another 14 hours to Melbourne.
Touch down in Doha at midnight and another deserted airport. Masked security pointing and shouting go go go and refusing to answer any questions. She's got 24 hours here. Luckily the airport hotel is open and for 500 bucks she gets a room (something we'd never do normally), for some solace and internet. Trouble is the internet is so weak it can't hold a messenger call so we had to improvise with voice mail messages for 24 hours. This was a problem because a screen conversation was invaluable at this time. Just shows what we take for granted.
Finally time to board the plane to Mel. about 30 -40 passengers on this one.
After she arrived in Melbourne we got replies from Qatar airways, here's an example: *Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting Qatar Airways.
Please accept our apologies for the delay in getting back to you. Due to an unusually high number of requests, we were unable to respond to your request sooner.
We realize that by now any response to your specific request would come too late. However, if you still require more information or further support please let us know by replying to this email.
Once again, we apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience and support.
Yours Sincerely,
Qatar Airways Support*So, no surprise but the airports are all deserted. Duty free lights are all on but barricaded by those ribbon dividers like at banks. The airline staff don't want anything to do with the leper passengers and you're in for evil stopover times.
As an aside, the Aus Ambassador in Thailand is a mighty fellow. He's video updating everyday on facebook and trying to facilitate flights for Aussies from Bkk. So far he's facilitated a direct flight to Sydney on April 26 and Mel on April 29. Next up he's got a Garuda flight to Sydney on wednesday put on by the Columbian government at 1300 AUD a head. He's got one going to melbourne on the 28th. His name is Allan McKinnon and he's a credit to Australia.
So in summary, International travel right now sucks giant balls...but not as much as your first 48 hours of quarantine....
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Quarantine:
Another verbose account of my wife's journey. The writing might suck and the words are over used but at least this information is dead set real and taken from actual real life for the missus over this past week.
After 50 odd hours covering a nearly 3 continents, she touches down in melbourne and then shit gets serious. All masked up, through customs easy pass and straight onto a bus. Forms filled out and health symptoms asked about amid an atmosphere of conformity, seriousness and heightened anxiety for every passenger.
Bus to hotel and line up to be processed. This is where the screaming and tears started from some of the 70 odd people there. The reality and finality of 14 days in a room (after all the travel) made for some very desperate frames of mind.
By the time the wife got to the room I was worried. looking back now she's come to terms, I can only describe her demeanour as one of an animal once you cage it and all it wants to do is get out. If animals could speak they'd say what the wife said, basically "fuck this. I dont care what happens next, just get me the fuck out of here now! I'm not sick!!!" I was worried and the wife now explains it all as an involuntary reaction to flee the situation - all rationality cast aside, and it's painful to recall. Said she could hear screaming and door thumping from other rooms. She talked herself down from the proverbial ledge too many times.
You see you're told that you will have no human contact for 14 days, no open windows and a guard on each floor so that if you open your door you're commanded to shut it and go back inside. All deliveries are a rap on the door and all "examinations" are by phone.
I read all the info they gave the wife and called the support services number to ask that she could be checked on regularly. It was worrying.
Thankfully by tuesday (went in on sunday night) she'd accepted the situation and has responded brilliantly. A week today she'll get out with one hell of an experience of travelling solo through all this shit - luckily love ain't affected by this fluffybunny virus!
Some random details re quarantine:
Novotel South Wharf in Melbourne. The hotel is full with at last 1500 newbies arriving in melbourne every week. The crown hotels are full and many others in melbourne alone. It's a massive operation centered around a support service that detainees and spouses are stongly encouraged to use, anytime. You ring an 1800 number and someone answers immediately. It's a fantastic service and I've talked to these people for ages as they explain it all. The support centre was set up 6 weeks ago and the hierachy is as follows: regular hotel staff, then special teams of "guest services" have been employed to deal with all detainees (she's got a jail style "Notice of Detention" document as the official sanction), onsite at the hotel, then support services oversees guest services and report to state Health department.
As one guy explained support services caters for literally thousands of returners to Australia, and they are brilliant!Health care:
Doctor rings every morning and goes through a symptom checklist. Nurses rang in the first few days but not now. She'll get tested on day 11. Not tested yet, not going to be. The people on the phone are "really nice". In her denial phase she learned that they ring once, if no answer ring again 5 mins later, if no answer a knock on the door comes soon after.
By ringing the guest services you can book a walk outside. The wife has been there 7 days, asked for a walk every day and has had only 2 outside visits in a week, but many phone calls to cancel a previously scheduled fresh air visit.When it's time for your outside visit you must be ready at the specified time. A knock on the door. Put on the gloves and mask and stand outside the door. 5 security people surround you, keeping 3m away. One summons the lift. You must follow them but not touch anysurface on the way down. In the carpark you are allowed about 1 to 2 minutes standing there and then escorted back to the room. Time for about 20 deep breaths. No exercise or walking. Just stand there and breath and then it's over. Sounds harsh, is harsh but 500 + guests and 10minutes per guest works out at 6 outside visits per hour - no wonder only 2 outsides in 7 days.
Food:
Government supplies 3 meals a day. Breakfast when arrive you're given a big box of weetbix, 2 litre bottle of milk. That lasts a week.
Lunch comes everyday in the form of a sandwich usually, a yoghurt, juice box and chocolate. Dinner is lasagne or salad or stew or chicken wings yesterday!!, with a yoghurt and a water or juice box.
We used room service once for a protein yielding steak sandwich and that never got delivered until 3 hours later.
No fruit apart from the first 2 days
Support services have set up something with woolworths delivery. You email support services and they reply with a woolworths kindness card. No money saved but I think a fast track to priority assistance. We've used wioolies twice now and thank you very very much @NTA if you had anything to do with this (just claim it mate!) because fresh fruit and instant noodles will save the day.
No cooking facilities in room, just a jug.
Uber eats and deliveroo are also options and me mate form support services set me right about all that stuff.
It's fortunate the detainees don't need a high calorie intake.Every 4 days new sheets and pillow cases and towels are dropped by the door. Havent used the laundary service yet - sink washing is something to do!
Internet available in all rooms free and effective.Check out for the hotel (Notice of Detention says from midnight on the 24th) is done by free taxis which take you to somewhere of your choice in the cbd. No people allowed to pick you up from the hotel. One out at a time and early checkouts reserved for those connecting with domestic flights. Asked for an early check out request and then Duh, who wouldn't want to check out early!?
So a week from today my mate will ferry her to the SA/Vic border where we'll do a Checkpoint Charlie handover, lest he crosses the border and must self isolate for 14 days. (The wife must do 14 extra days self isolation after this quarantine, for crossing the border 5 hours later. Madness, but another example of lack of logic that sows doubt in the minds of any critical thinker. I'm wary of orders from those with guaranteed salaries and pensions...).What else?
That's probably it. Overall much credit to the authorities for setting this up thusly and trying to make what they describe as shocking conditions for a human but doing their best to help. Support services renew your faith in human nature. Great people.
Phone and video calls are essential and also difficult as you're offering encouragement to someone whose shoes you've not even taken a step in, let alone walked a mile in. you learn to stop involuntarily asking"what ya doing?, What's on for today?" pretty quickly. Silly distracting banter and riffing seems to be the best.
Hope that helps. Lots of dribble but in an age of peddled bullshit, at least it's a true account.
Thanks for being interested and asking after my cool chick whose main flaw is her shit taste in men!
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@Siam said in Coronavirus - Australia:
You email support services and they reply with a woolworths kindness card. No money saved but I think a fast track to priority assistance. We've used wioolies twice now and thank you very very much @NTA if you had anything to do with this (just claim it mate!) because fresh fruit and instant noodles will save the day.
I'll take it 😉
The pivot in our business has actually been amazing, but I hear the massive profits from panic buying early in March have been offset hugely by the stuff we've done like changing logistics, putting in Perspex screens and stickers on the floor etc
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@Siam just fucking wow
This part would do my nut in
"When it's time for your outside visit you must be ready at the specified time. A knock on the door. Put on the gloves and mask and stand outside the door. 5 security people surround you, keeping 3m away. One summons the lift. You must follow them but not touch anysurface on the way down. In the carpark you are allowed about 1 to 2 minutes standing there and then escorted back to the room. Time for about 20 deep breaths. No exercise or walking. Just stand there and breath and then it's over. Sounds harsh, is harsh but 500 + guests and 10minutes per guest works out at 6 outside visits per hour - no wonder only 2 outsides in 7 days."
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so, are the Governments (most especially, my state) getting different info to teh rest of us?
Because Comrade Paluszczuk is saying she may not open Queensland until September. Sep-fucking-tember.
You might be able to fly Sydney-Auckland before you can fly Sydney-Brisbane.
So we have yet another Chief Health Officer (who, unfairly or not, looks like she is scared of her own shadow) pretty much ruling out real life because Covid19 still exists.
At this rate, fucking Victoria will open for business before we do.
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It's an interesting game being played by Queensland, SA and WA. It's great political gear for those (very parochial) states: "you dirty cnts from NSW and Victoria can stay in your disease-ridden cities and stay out of our clean paradise".
There is an almighty horde of grey nomads who are revving their 4WDs as we speak, ready to chase the sun up either the east or west coast. I understand the need for a bit of caution given the disaster that would ensue if this virus swept through a caravan park on the Sunshine Coast, but September is questionable.
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@barbarian said in Coronavirus - Australia:
It's an interesting game being played by Queensland, SA and WA. It's great political gear for those (very parochial) states: "you dirty cnts from NSW and Victoria can stay in your disease-ridden cities and stay out of our clean paradise".
There is an almighty horde of grey nomads who are revving their 4WDs as we speak, ready to chase the sun up either the east or west coast. I understand the need for a bit of caution given the disaster that would ensue if this virus swept through a caravan park on the Sunshine Coast, but September is questionable.
i think the Gov't may be sightly misreading the lay of the land. Locking down the state hurts a lot of industries. And no body likes policies that cost jobs.
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Queenslanders are being warned not to assume we have beaten coronavirus and "it is unlikely that we will, ever" despite a large drop in cases.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said 42 Queensland cases of COVID-19 have no traceable source, including an infected nurse working at a Rockhampton aged care facility.
"These are the cases that worry me," Dr Young said.
"This is why we cannot assume we have beaten this virus — we haven't.
"It is unlikely that we will, ever.
"We'll have to find ways of managing it and the hope of course is for a vaccine to assist us in that."
So I guess @mariner4life , their way of managing it is being their own little country... Her movement wouldn't be restricted, her pay isn't at threat. She's got no skin in the game. The only thing that would change the direction is polling that demonstrates Paluszczuk is in for a hiding come the election.
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@antipodean and god do i hope that is coming.
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@mariner4life said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@antipodean and god do i hope that is coming.
LNP QLD can just sit back and Bradbury the fuck out of it.
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@NTA said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@mariner4life said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@antipodean and god do i hope that is coming.
LNP QLD can just sit back and Bradbury the fuck out of it.
it would be a total Bradbury, i can't even name their leader.
I am really hoping our Labor MP gets turfed, he's useless, and the new LNP candidate is great (she was our councellor for years)
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@mariner4life said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@NTA said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@mariner4life said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@antipodean and god do i hope that is coming.
LNP QLD can just sit back and Bradbury the fuck out of it.
it would be a total Bradbury, i can't even name their leader.
I am really hoping our Labor MP gets turfed, he's useless, and the new LNP candidate is great (she was our councellor for years)
Was thinking exactly that.
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@mariner4life had to Google and apparently it's Freckles, would never have guessed. Tim Mander No.2.
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Businesses suffering economic hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic and state border closures could have a case to put to the High Court, with leading constitutional lawyers saying it’s possible the ongoing restrictions on interstate travel are illegal.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said on Tuesday night that the states needed to carefully consider the economic effects and constitutional limitations of their ongoing border restrictions.
Under section 92 of the Constitution, trade, commerce and the movement of people among the states “shall be absolutely free”. However, the High Court accepts there are exceptions to the rule, including to defend the public’s health.
University of Sydney constitutional law expert Anne Twomey said it was a lot harder now than it was at the start of the pandemic to argue that the border closures were reasonable and imposed for a legitimate end, such as protecting the community from COVID-19, when the number of active cases in Australia was so low.
Professor Twomey said it was “a possibility” that the border closures were unconstitutional.
“If a court is looking at what is reasonably necessary in the circumstances, there’d be consensus the states shutting borders at the start was reasonably necessary,” she told The Australian.
“But it’s much more difficult now the huge numbers of coronavirus cases have reduced significantly and there’s little community transmission … to argue you still need those borders shut.
“You can make a case for it, particularly if you’re trying to exterminate the virus rather than just manage it, but is it purely for a health purpose and is that health purpose reasonably necessary in the circumstances? It would then be up to a court to decide.”
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And in terms of kicking the can down the road:
New figures from the banking industry's peak body show that payments for more than one-in-14 mortgages have been deferred.
The Australian Banking Association revealed repayments on 429,000 mortgages worth $153.5 billion have been put on hold, so far.
"There's an assumption that everybody is going to get their jobs back, and the tenant can start a repayment program of whatever the tenant can afford over the next period of months following that … and everything will go back to normal," Mr McKibbin said.
"I think that is wearing rose-coloured glasses."
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I've limited sympathy for those using investment to negatively gear. Particularly if, as per the quote from the agent "some landlords are faring worse than their tenants".
That is like these people who get mortgages on 95%LVR and then figure out they can't afford it after the first change in rates. If you can't practically identify your own risk, don't invest.