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The world's most extreme border policy
PoliticoHow would you like to spend five years in jail or pay a $51,000 fine for trying to enter your own country? That’s what 9,000 Australians in India are now facing if they attempt to come home during India’s horrific Covid outbreak.
The new border policy, announced under the country’s Biosecurity Act without public consultation, may have ramifications for what it means to be a citizen in a democracy. After all, a democratic government’s fundamental allegiance is to its own citizens. But if you can’t return home as a citizen, what can you do?
While many countries have placed restrictions on foreign arrivals during Covid, Kim Rubenstein, a citizenship law expert from the University of Canberra, told Global Translations that “no other democratic country has placed such extreme measures on its citizens” — most of whom are already banned from leaving the country.
The policy was announced without detailed justification at midnight Saturday and is already in force. The national Cabinet, which met on Friday, did not discuss the matter and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not faced reporters since the decision was made.
The new border policy, announced under the country’s Biosecurity Act without public consultation, may have ramifications for what it means to be a citizen in a democracy. After all, a democratic government’s fundamental allegiance is to its own citizens. But if you can’t return home as a citizen, what can you do?
While many countries have placed restrictions on foreign arrivals during Covid, Kim Rubenstein, a citizenship law expert from the University of Canberra, told Global Translations that “no other democratic country has placed such extreme measures on its citizens” — most of whom are already banned from leaving the country.
The policy was announced without detailed justification at midnight Saturday and is already in force. The national Cabinet, which met on Friday, did not discuss the matter and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not faced reporters since the decision was made.