The Hon Alan Tudge MP is currently acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs
ALAN TUDGE: Well thanks very much everybody for coming along here today. This is unprecedented times in terms of us dealing with this coronavirus and I was particularly keen to speak to some of the multicultural media and make a few comments, through you, to the broader multicultural community and then to be able to address some questions which you may have.
The first point is that I just want to say a very big thank you to the broader multicultural community for how they're going about their lives at the moment in accordance with the government restrictions. And we appreciate that these are unprecedented times that we're asking people to do things which they may not ever have been asked to do. And I just want to say thank you for cooperating because all of us have to step up and do these things. For example, all of us have to do the proper social distancing because that's the best way of preventing the virus from spreading. We all have to take heed of the requirements in relation to groups assembling indoors and also groups assembling outdoors and that obviously applies to some of the larger multicultural functions as well - that we can't have functions inside of greater than 100 people and indeed, there's a further restriction which the Prime Minister has just announced today. That's a restriction of one person per four square metres. That means that if you've got a venue which is 100 square metres, then you can have 25 people inside that venue. A venue 200 square metres, you can have 50 people inside that venue. And furthermore, if you're outside, then the restriction in relation to a maximum of 500 people should apply. And of course, even during those events, the social distancing practices should occur as well. Of course, if a person has arrived back from overseas, we are asking them to self-isolate and this is really important as well. And there are serious penalties associated with not heeding that particular requirement, and the states and territories have put in place those financial penalties for such people who do that.
So, these are all very important requirements that we are asking all Australians to abide by. And I just want to thank the multicultural communities for their cooperation in abiding by these requirements and doing their bit to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. As the Prime Minister said, we can't stop the spread but we can defeat it by slowing its incidences down.
The second thing, if I can say is that we obviously announced yesterday some significant travel restrictions, meaning that only Australians, permanent resident and close family members can now travel to Australia if they are abroad. And I appreciate that this has a higher impact on new migrants to this country than people who may have been here, their families for generations, and in part, because you have greater interactions with your loved ones in other countries. And so again, I just thank you for your patience on this and your understanding in relation to this particular restriction which has been put in place. It's been put in place for a reason, and that is because 80 per cent of all of the coronavirus cases in Australia have been transmitted by people coming into the country or from people who've had connections with people who have just arrived into the country and had picked up and transmitted that virus. Third point I'd say is that there's a lot of misinformation out there, and I encourage people to only source the information from the government sources and particularly, from the health.gov.au website. It's being updated every single day, if not hourly, and has very good practical information. So if you have questions, go to health.gov.au, as the source which you should go to for information. Don't listen to any information from Twitter or from Facebook or from WeChat or other social media outlets. Please go to those government sources to get that information. That's very important because it is misinformation which is spreading out there.
And then finally, if I could say, before handing it over to you for questions, is that we will get through this. And the Government is putting in place measures to slow the spread of this virus, but we all have to do our bit in the process. All Australians, all permanent residents, all have to do our bit to get through it. But we will get through on the other side and then we'll resume activities as we normally have. But it's a tough time for everybody at the moment. And I, again, just reiterate my thanks for your cooperation as we deal with the enhanced restrictions. And I know many businesses as well who are really suffering and we have sympathy for those. We're putting in place measures to support those businesses as well.
So let me finish there and I'm happy to deal with any questions that people might have.
QUESTION: Has the Federal Government and also the state government [indistinct] communication strategy to deal with the linguistic diverse community in case [indistinct]?
ALAN TUDGE: Yeah. I should have mentioned that, that even on the health.gov.au website, there are translations for the major fact sheets in multiple languages. So, please go to that site, find that language should you need a different language and it's available there. The other important website, of course, is the Home Affairs website and it has information in relation to visas, which I know there may be some questions in relation to it.
QUESTION: There are problems of working holiday visas or backpackers stuck in Australia because of recent travel ban resulting in lots of their flights cancelled. So what are they supposed to do? Because many of them visa are going to expire very soon.
ALAN TUDGE: Yeah. And this doesn't just apply for working holiday makers, but it applies to other people who are on temporary visas and their visa may be coming to an end soon. I would say to those people that if they cannot exit Australia or want to stay in Australia, then please let the Department of Immigration know as quickly as possible and inform them of your circumstance. We will be able to deal with those individual cases. More broadly, of course, we're looking at all the temporary visas. Knowing that we will have fewer people coming into the country on temporary visas. And many of those people are essential for essential services and for businesses to keep going. So we're cognisant of that and we're also cognisant of the issue which you just raised of people who will be planning on exiting the country. So we are examining that urgently in terms of the temporary visas and we will be providing more flexibility in that regards. I should have mentioned this at the outset for those people who have visas expiring very soon. Yes, call the Immigration Department or certainly let them know, [indistinct] you will be able to apply for a further visa and we certainly are taking into account the coronavirus circumstances.
QUESTION: Minister, the government have been spending a lot in communicating with the Australians about this virus and this situation so that we should then [inaudible]… How much do you think can ask the government to spend on the multicultural community to achieve this goal? And do you prefer setting up separate multicultural [indistinct] so that all the multicultural media outlets and the community organisations can be connected through this, rather than going to the health.gov.au website to find out something…
ALAN TUDGE: Yes, so the health.gov.au website is the most authoritative site for all Australians, no matter what language you speak. Please go to that website, there are translations into multiple languages on that website. I'm also asking you as the multicultural media to impart good information as well to your readers and to your listeners and to your watchers. That's very important. What I was saying earlier is that there is a lot of false information out there. And we have to ensure that people are getting the right information, the factual information. And that way people know what's going on and calmly adhere to those messages while going about, as much as humanly possible with their ordinary business.
QUESTION: The ban comes in at 9pm tonight, but there are some flights coming in at 20 past 9. So what you going to do with those people who are in arrival?
ALAN TUDGE: So this was announced yesterday at about, it was about three or four o'clock. So what's that make it - 30 odd hours before those flights were scheduled to arrive. And it was timed to be in alignment obviously with New Zealand as well, in terms of that being made. So there will be very few people who will be arriving after that time because 30 hours [inaudible] to be able to get to Australia.
QUESTION: There is a big, big debate about whether the schools should be open or shut up. And the Prime Minister did mention about schools that opened in Singapore, but the model which is being followed in UK is the children of the health care workers are the only ones who are going to school; for everybody else the schools are shut from Friday. Is it not a good model to adopt here?
ALAN TUDGE: So, we are asking all schools to remain open. And that is being done on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Australia and the Chief Medical Officer of every state and territory government. And that advice has been provided to the National Cabinet which consists of the Prime Minister and the premiers of Australia. And collectively and unanimously, the decision has been made to keep the schools open. And for a number of reasons, not least of which is, is because if the schools were closed, we would probably lose 30 per cent of the nursing workforce and we need all the health professionals at the moment to be working. And that's not to mention other members of the workforce who would not be able to go about their daily jobs in other essential services. The Chief Medical Officer, even today, was making the point that the incidences of children getting infected is remarkably low. Very, very low. Something like only two per cent of all cases in China, in Wuhan, which has been the majority of the cases in the world, were of people under the age of 19. The symptoms seem to be very low for children as well. So it's important that these schools stay open. I think the final reason it's important as well is because often if children are required to stay at home, sometimes they'll be cared for then by their grandparents. And it's actually the grandparents and the elderly who are most at risk. So for all of those reasons, the unanimous decision of the National Cabinet was to keep the schools open for the time being.
QUESTION: Minister, with people on working holiday visas at the moment [indistinct] breaching their terms, what does this mean both for regional areas that rely on people on working holiday visas in the area, and in terms of the flexibility, what does that mean in terms of [indistinct]?
ALAN TUDGE: Yeah. So, we're working through this right now and we're very cognisant, particularly in the regional areas that do heavily rely on those working holiday visas, or maybe the Pacific Islander scheme. And would be expecting a group of people possibly to be arriving over the next couple of months to pick the fruit or do the other agricultural work that would be required. So I've been in constant discussions with the Agricultural Minister, with the Employment Minister and with the Foreign Minister in relation to this matter to provide solutions to meet the needs of that, particularly of the agricultural sector. But also to meet the needs of those people who may want to stay longer in Australia. So we're working through that presently. As I said if the person's visa is expiring literally in a day, please notify the department immediately, and in the short term we'll be dealing with this broader question of flexibility in relation to the visas.
QUESTION: [Inaudible question]
ALAN TUDGE: Sorry, I didn't quite catch the question?
QUESTION: [Inaudible question]
ALAN TUDGE: So, the question was in relation to if you have to travel overseas for emergency reasons. The strong advice is; do not travel overseas at this time. That is the unequivocal strong advice given to all Australians; do not travel overseas. And please go to the smarttraveller.gov.au website which has further details in relation to that. Do not travel overseas. That is the absolute strong advice. Now that is an advice - if people breach that advice and go overseas, when they come back, if they're an Australian citizen or permanent resident, they will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. Other people who haven't asked a question.
QUESTION: Hi, Minister. While you've mentioned students, those students that didn't go to universities, they went to [indistinct] or some [indistinct] so now they cannot go to school and they don't have any part time job. So what can they do - I have one student, and actually, she asked for my help. And we [inaudible]… I cannot always provide [indistinct]. So she cannot go back and then she couldn't find a job here, and then she couldn't finish her studies, so very sad.
ALAN TUDGE: So let me be clear, this is an international student who has been here, is already here in Australia, presumably since the beginning of the year. And international students are able to work as you know, up to 40 hours per week to support themselves- sorry, 40 hours per fortnight, 20 hours per week, as you'd know. And most people bring savings as well to be able to support themselves. And you're giving me an instance of a person who's been unable to find work, is that what you're saying?
QUESTION: [indistinct].
ALAN TUDGE: Yeah. Listen, it's hard to provide advice for an individual as to why they've been unable to get work. To be honest, the greater challenge has been from industry who's been seeking greater support from international students, to do more work than what they've been legally able to do to date. As I pointed out, international students can do 20 hours per week, 40 hours per fortnight. The grocery stores approached me a week or so ago and said: can we please extend those hours? Just given the huge demand on the supermarkets as you're no doubt all aware. And so we actually gave them that additional flexibility so that international students can do 40 hours per week now rather than 40 hours per fortnight. We've also extended that to the aged care sector. So to be honest, for international students that's the greater pressure that we're getting at the moment, and what we're working through. And there may be other sectors that we may apply that additional flexibility too. Now, sorry, you had your hand up before, sorry.
QUESTION: Thanks for your productive time, to come all the way out here to Melbourne to [inaudible]… multicultural minister afraid to do that like you. And having said this all, and you explained everything, now the small business in Victoria; they're contributing for the economy and creating local jobs. And they're the one [indistinct] for Australia. And they're now suffering so much. And [indistinct] small business there [indistinct] working part time or full time, the [indistinct] now because of this virus - there is no Uber driver, there is no taxi, there is no hotels, there is no any - and unemployment is happening. So there is temporarily [indistinct] access to super money for a six-month period, $3000 to $5000 so that that money can help and sustain the [indistinct] asking the government, and secondly, that now the Victoria Multicultural Commission is saying - the commissioner was saying that successful multicultural society in Melbourne. So having said this, the donations, the funding they're giving, the thousands of [indistinct], they are not using the proper way, the money. But there is no need for VMC here because now the multiculturalism is successful in Melbourne. So what is thought on that?
ALAN TUDGE: Just in relation to the VMC and how that operates and the decisions of the state government there, they're for the state governments to deal with and I'll let them answer those questions. In relation to the broader question though about small business, and we are acutely aware that many small businesses are already suffering and many more will suffer as a result of the coronavirus. And migrants are known to create small businesses at a higher rate than Australian-born people. And so your communities have a particularly - are particularly effected in that regard. You would have already seen a couple of things occur in relation to small business. Yesterday the Reserve Bank dropped official interest rates, and the Australian Government provided a $15 billion assistance to ensure that credit remains, and remains low to businesses. Secondly today, the big banks - all the banks have announced that there will be a moratorium on their repayments for those who are demonstrably suffering from the coronavirus. And I think that's a very important move from the large banks. And then thirdly, I'll inform you that we are actively working right now on a further stimulus package which will be announced in a short time to further support small business and those people who may be put out of work as a result of the coronavirus. This is a very, very tough situation and we are cognisant of it. We are asking the banks to do the right thing, which they've done today. The RBA has taken steps. We're asking all Australians to continue to support local businesses, such as the cafés, such as the bars, such as the restaurants, while heeding the advice of the social distancing. Social distancing rules are there, and they don't mean you can't go to a local restaurant or café. It just means that that café has to abide by the rules and you have to abide by the 1.5 metre rule. And otherwise, please go there because that's supporting that local business.
QUESTION: Minister Tudge, sir, many Australian Macedonians are concerned by claims that the Greek Consul General of Melbourne, Mr Dimitrios Michalopoulos, has pressured the Victorian State Premier Daniel Andrews to sack Emilia Sterjova, the Whittlesea Council, the mayor, over Macedonia issues. So should foreign governments be interfering in Australia, sir?
ALAN TUDGE: Listen, I'm not familiar with this particular issue right now, so I don't have a comment in relation to that, and I'll just leave that one to the premier. Just last question, I think [inaudible]… opportunity to ask a question. If anybody's had an opportunity to ask-
QUESTION: Can you please [indistinct] the Chinese community - some members of the Chinese community are quite critical with the government action, saying that doing too little and too late. What are your comments on that? They're saying that you should encourage people to wear face masks and also thinking of locking down certain areas of Sydney or Melbourne.
ALAN TUDGE: Yeah. So, every step that our government and states and territory governments have been taking has been on the express advice of the expert medical practitioners in Australia. The Chief Medical Officer of Australia and the chief medical officers of each of the states and territories. We've been - one of the very first actions which we took was to put in place travel bans to initially China, and then to other countries which had very high incidences of coronavirus. And then we've gradually been - steadily been increasing those restrictions. It's done to be sustainable. It's done to get through this, and it's done to, obviously, have the least amount of damage and the least amount of disruption to everyday Australians, while still the paramount concern being the health concerns of Australians, particularly those elderly people and other frail people who are most susceptible to catching this coronavirus. Thanks very much everybody for coming along. I'll probably start to do this maybe once a week in order to inform the multicultural media and deal you're your questions.
Thanks everybody.
[ENDS]
