tum

Hi, Does anybody know if there is a link or site where you can find news and/or regular updates on Flight Caps for incoming international flights. I understand there is a review at the end of August of the currently halved Caps, more government facilitated flight filled to the brim (no caps as is my understanding) and there is a pilot underway in Adelaide where vacced people are allowed to home quarantine or in a hotel for 7 days instead of 14. Any ideas on where to find this kind of summarised 😅. I do find articles, ABC the Drum has items, Helath.Gov, immi, Smarttraveller, but all pretty willy-nilly 😵‍💫. Cheers.
PS am in the Netherlands with Permanent residency in Australia.

PS sorry, posted twice can’t seem to delete the other one, sorry.

bcworld

Just FYI on the home quarantine trial, it will only apply to people who have been vaccinated IN AUSTRALIA. So it's not much use for anyone who has been stuck overseas and vaccinated elsewhere.

Any changes to the caps are big news but not sure where you'd find official updates.

To be honest the way things are going with delta outbreaks I don't see the caps bejng increased until much later than August, and this has pretty much been stated anyway I think.

Pollyana

Every news channel will carry any change to flight caps as soon as they are announced.

I wouldn't be banking on getting any good news in August though, in fact I would be surprised at any increase this year.

tum

Thanks for the info guys 👍. I didn’t know that the pilot in Adelaide would be for Australian vaccinations only. And yes, I do agree with you that I fear those caps won’t be raised anytime soon. Fingers crossed we can say’Covid..oh that was when…’ sooner rather than later. Will have to book as far in the future as possible and hope we don’t get bumped. Our goal is early 2022.

Beoz

If I was to take a punt, there are a million doses a week coming from now with a few extras along the way. That's probably about October/November time until some sort of uncontested argument can be formed. Maybe a bit sooner when everyone gets itchy feet seeing Europe and the US having a ball with no restrictions. A bit sooner again with a few outbreaks in Queensland or WA and they make a rush on the AstraZeneca stock.

tum

Thanks Beoz, I sincerely hope so….and of course that you are also able again to fly out and visit your loved ones xx.
i’ve seen the scaremongering on ABC the Drum about what’s happening in the Netherlands, and my heart goes out to anyone, also the ad about that young kady gasping for air, never happened over here, the unfortunate people like that go to IC’s and put in an induced light coma with ventilator……..not saying it can’t hallen in countries with less accessible health systems. This is my stance on it right now, yes it is bad, yes we want it gone, yes we want to safe people’s lives, no I don’t want the Media to worsen my outlook, because it doesn’t change a thing. Yes to safe distancing, washing hands, and common sense. Sorry, rant over.

Pollyana

Trouble is though, a majority of Aussies don't care two hoots about the borders opening, and unless the gutter press start telling them they should be asking for travel rights, they will just adopt that "she'll be right " attitude and listen to Nanny State talking about how dangerous it is overseas.

I still reckon 2025 for any sort of decent travel prospects, though to be honest I am almost resigned to never seeing anyone at home again.

Pollyana

So with my work hat on....as you say the info is willy-nilly, all over the place. We have to do daily reports on the COVID figures and there really is no ne source to go to. Figures and info is spread across numerous State/Territory government pages, and then there are the federal government ones as well. It truly is a nightmare trying to find any info. The sites you mention all have bits and pieces, but to be honest the best place to get the caps info is from ABC or the Guardian, the Australian, somewhere like that. As soon as there isa rumour of change the media will have it on the front pages.
Part of the problem is that with more DFAT Repat flights, all those travellers have to go into quarantine - most are going to Howard Springs, but not all. So they take up hotel rooms. Then there are increasing numbers of people onshore being locked into hotels as well - can't speak for the other States but Qld has a ruling that if you are a close contact then you have to isolate at home, but if your home involves sharing a bathroom & kitchen with people who are not your immediate family - then you get transported to a hotel at a few minutes notice and dumped there for a fortnight. And of course there is only a certain number of hotels in each State which are geared up for quarantine, so if you put locals into them, you lose rooms that could have been filled with incoming travellers. Thats part of the reason the caps were cut. Close contacts were being rounded up and locked into hotel rooms, meaning there were fewer and fewer rooms available. The weekend that Qld started asking for the caps to be cut there were hardly any available rooms left across the State.
Thus until the numbers being locked up for being close contacts reduce dramatically, there is no way they will increase the caps.

tum

Ok that makes sense and explains why in a reasonable fashion. Not that I am happy about it and in that regard it is the same everywhere, politics and health don't do well together. But it makes way more sense than what is broadcast about the Caps being halved, putting the blame on incoming passengers. It's just do volatile right now and fear does keep people in check, although I absolutely loathe it, there are more mature, emphatic and sensible ways to go about it. If you ever feel like a chat Pollyana, feel free, are u ok and all that. We sometimes just need a place to vent. If not, no worries, also ok.

Pollyana

One of the things that does get my goat is how the governments (Federal and State) try to keep so much hidden from us ordinary people. I haven't put anything on the forums that is secret or confidential; I would never reveal stuff like that. But I like to help people to understand some of the reasons behind policy decisions, but this information should be more easily available. As you say, we may not be happy about the decisions but it helps if we know some of the background so that we can understand them a bit better. You summed it up perfectly, there are mature and sensible ways to go about things, and I just wish the governments here understood that.

tum

Learned something new ‘gets my goat’, what a great expression. I work for a community council in the Netherlands as a Policy maker and I am not a stranger to what (local) government/councils keep hidden. Everybody talks of, ‘oh, we need to be transparent…we need to clearly inform…’ but most of the times they (Politicians) decide what is good for everyone. I mean, yes I advise, but I do not decide and my advice is not always in the Public eye, so to speak. So yes, I feel your pain and feeling of injustice. It has gotten better than years ago they say, with the fact that everything, also by law, needs to be transparent, but years ago it was more like ‘a (wo)man is a (wo)man of his/her word. We’ll see what will happen in Australia, over here and the World in the months to come, with regards to Covid. Thanks so much for your insight and info Pollyana, really appreciate it.

Beoz

But wasn't this because Queensland throw interstate travellers in jail, sorry I mean hotels, and you crushed your capacity right there?

That was 1300 a week cap for Queensland. Is there not 1300 beds in Queensland? It would be quite funny given Queensland is a self styled tourism Mecca.

Beoz

Yep. Gladys has disappointed us greatly down here. She was more than happy to lock down the white areas in the Northern Beaches and Waverley/Woollahra/Randwick LGA's but when it came to locking down the newer immigrant areas, mostly Middle Eastern, in Fairfield/Liverpool/Bankstown she knew there would be riots, calls of racism, and general bad press. Guess what, she did it anyway 3 weeks late. I don't see the issue, they don't vote for her anyway out there.

Pollyana

Its not just interstate travellers, its also locals - even if their housemates agree to isolate with them, if its a shared bathroom, "off to jail" you go.
And yes, there are many many thousands of hotel rooms, BUT in order to be used as a quarantine hotel you need to be on contract with the State government - agreeing to price per room, but also agreeing to various standards for cleaning (different depending on whether the person in the room tested positive or not), staffing arrangements (testing etc) . access by non-travellers, these contracts are pages and pages long and a) not all hotels will agree to them and B) the State have to pay up front, and have to pay for vacant and out-of-service (being cleaned) rooms. Reclaiming fees from travellers comes much later and the hotels want payment asap. The more people in quarantine testing positive, the more rooms out of service - sometimes for 3 or 4 days due to the deep clean required & number of cleaners able to do it.
All that adds up to a small pool of hotels that are willing to be used and meet all requirements.
And the government wants the rooms to be near international hotels, so they are almost all Brisbane/Gold Coast. If you manage to get to Townsville on a flight from NSW or Mel, and aren't turned straight back, your next trip is a flight to Brisbane to be put in a hotel there.

Beoz

So in summary, Queensland problems, politics, and policy became the rest of Australia's problem. By reducing the flight caps to service Queensland's own needs the rest of Australia suffered. Cut Queensland loose.