CORONAVIRUS —
YONGAH HILL IMMIGRATION DETENTION CENTRE
554. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer to the decision to classify
New South Wales as a high-risk jurisdiction on 17 August under the controlled
border arrangements and the subsequent arrival of an Australian Border Force
flight this week transporting 72 individuals from Sydney into WA.
(1) At what date and what time did
the Premier become aware of this flight arriving in Western Australia?
(2) Under which
exemption category were the 72 individuals present on the flight approved for a
G2G PASS?
(3) Has the Chief
Health Officer provided any advice about the risk this flight poses to the WA
community; and, if so, please detail this advice.
(4) In regard to the 72 individuals
who travelled on this flight —
(a) what is the vaccination status of
each individual;
(b) what is the current quarantine
status of each individual; and
(c) can the
Premier confirm that each individual has registered to use the G2G Now
application as mandatory under the controlled border arrangements?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The Premier was made aware of
reports of the flight on the morning of 18 August 2021.
(2)–(4) The
detainees and any movement of them are the responsibility of the commonwealth
government. Western Australia Police Force advises that Australian Border Force
provided it with details of the detainees, and under the Yongah Hill
Immigration Detainees Directions (No 3) there is no requirement for the
detainees to complete a G2G PASS declaration. The commonwealth government is
responsible for the detainees and should have taken all necessary steps to
protect the WA community from the risk associated with moving the detainees to
Yongah Hill from New South Wales. The McGowan government has put in place
strong border arrangements aimed at preventing COVID-19 from coming to WA from NSW, including the requirements for a negative
polymerase chain reaction test within 72 hours of departing New South
Wales; proof of receipt of at least one vaccination, if eligible for
vaccination in the point of origin, unless
medically exempted; mandatory use of G2G Now; and self-quarantine requirements.
If there is any risk, it is the result of the actions of the
commonwealth government.