Subjects: Coronavirus; medical evacuation from Wuhan.
EO&E...........................................................................................................................................
NATALIE BARR:
Joining us now is Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. Morning to you Minister.
PETER DUTTON:
Morning Nat.
NATALIE BARR:
With the death toll rising and the virus still spreading, how can you ensure Australians will be safe?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Nat, we know that there are almost 15,000 people now that are affected by this virus, over 300 deaths and we want to make sure that we isolate people coming from Wuhan and obviously we've put in place a lot of logistical support, we've worked closely with Defence and Border Force. They'll receive those people and people will be in quarantine for up to 14 days until they can get clearance from doctors and once that happens, people can then return back to their homes.
DAVID KOCH:
Lots of Aussies in other parts of China, finding it hard to get home. With our strict travel bans now in place, what are their options to get home?
PETER DUTTON:
So Kochie, some people are already on flights and obviously Qantas has announced they're going to cancel flights after the 9th of February. We've seen Australian citizens take the decision to come home already and other people that have made decisions for their own reasons to stay. They'll have business, they'll have family reasons as to why they want to stay and people will make those individual decisions.
But we've been very clear to Australians – now the travel warning has been raised to the point where we're saying to people they should not travel to China – and we're reviewing that again in a fortnight. We're making sure that we can get on top of any developments there and ultimately relying on the medical advice here.
NATALIE BARR:
Minister, just over a week ago you were allowing people to land directly into this country directly from Wuhan. Haven't you acted too late on this?
PETER DUTTON:
No, we've acted in accord with the advice that we've received. So the National Security Committee has met regularly, we've made a decision in relation to the Hubei province, we've made a decision in relation to mainland China and we have done that on the advice, not only of the Chief Medical Officer of Australia, but also the Chief Medical Officers from the states and territories. So they meet together, they look at all the best evidence from the World Health Organization. We overlay that with the intelligence and with the advice that we have otherwise. We have acted very quickly.
Obviously a number of airlines have decided to cancel flights. People of their own accord have decided to turn around knowing that Australia has put in place this overlay. So I think we've done everything humanly possible to keep Australians safe here and to make sure that we provide support to those that are stuck in some of these areas.
DAVID KOCH:
Just quickly, China is our biggest customer, is this going push us into a recession?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Kochie, it's a good question. Obviously we're already worried, for example, around the tourism industry and there's a lot of support that the Government's giving to try and promote the idea that if you're thinking about a holiday, please think about it domestically, supporting particularly regional centres that have been affected by the bushfires and this will be an additional overlay. So it's the reason why managing the Budget well and effectively and trying to have money in the bank for a rainy day is important and…
DAVID KOCH:
...so recession, yes or no?
PETER DUTTON:
Sorry mate?
DAVID KOCH:
A recession, yes or no?
PETER DUTTON:
No, I think the economy is resilient enough and I think we need to make sure, as I say, that we support Australian business and that's really the cry for consumers at the moment.
DAVID KOCH:
Fingers crossed. Thank you for joining us. Appreciate it.
[ends]
