Australia threatens to deport tourist revellers

Agencies | Sydney

The Daily Tribune –www.newsofbahrain.com

Tourists who joined a mass gathering against COVID-19 rules at a Sydney beach on Christmas Day could be deported, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said Tuesday.

Migration authorities were investigating the hundreds of young people who crowded on Bronte Beach despite health limitations and would crack down on those deemed responsible, Hawke told radio station 2GB, dpa has reported.

Hawke said he was "shocked" at the beach crowd in Sydney’s east breaching social distancing rules, most of them reported to be foreign backpackers and working visa holders from the UK and Ireland.

"Under the Migration Act, if somebody is threatening public safety or health, their visa can be cancelled and revoked," Hawke said.

"The federal government is looking at that issue. We're very happy to deport people if people are flagrantly disobeying public health orders," Mr Hawke said.

Earlier on Tuesday, New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott accused the Christmas beach revellers of "disgraceful acts" that showed a blatant disregard for health orders trying to stop the spread of coronavirus.

According to the dpa, Elliott said a group of people who broke lockdown on the city’s northern beaches to attend a wedding on Sunday committed a "bastard act." Twelve people were fined 1,000 dollars (US$759) each for breaching the lockdown.

Sydney is trying to suppress a COVID-19 outbreak on the city’s northern beaches where 129 people have tested positive. Thousands of people on the northern beaches are in lockdown, while the rest of Sydney can move around but have only 10 visitors in their home.