Late last month, Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino announced that a pet quarantine facility in Mickleham, about 40km north of the Melbourne CBD, would be used as the preferred alternative quarantine site for overseas returning travellers.
The plan involves an investment of $15 million and covers 144 hectares, and will be converted into individual cabins that can accommodate around 500 people.
The Victorian Government announced last week that it has submitted the proposal to the Federal Government, requesting funding to build the centre. Here’s what the concept design for the new quarantine site looks like inside.
As we all know, the ‘Australians first’ policy has long been a major obstacle to international students returning to Australia. The slow pace of Australians returning home has been largely due to the shortage of quarantine facilities and the inability to raise arrival caps in each state — the quarantine issue has always been a major headache for the Federal Government.
Finally, yesterday, this quarantine plan that could help bring international students back to Victoria, won the endorsement of Morrison! Morrison even said the Federal Government is considering providing funding support
Morrison said: “I welcome this proposal — compared with the other proposals we’ve received, it’s a very detailed and comprehensive one.” Once implemented, the international student pilot programme will move ahead more quickly.
Of course, not everyone is convinced. Federal Defence Minister Peter Dutton dismissed the plan outright, calling it a “smokescreen” and a deception.
However, on 4 May Morrison said the Federal Government is seriously considering this proposed quarantine centre, and that he respects the proposal and will discuss it with the Victorian Government as soon as possible. As for the pilot plan Victoria recently submitted to the Federal Government, there has been no further update from the Federal Government so far. Facing scrutiny on the issue, current Education Minister Alan Tudge said the government is being “very cautious” about bringing international students back to Australia.
