Several Australian lawmakers called for Katie Hopkins’ deportation after it was revealed that the British provocateur was allowed into the country despite strict Covid-19 border rules that have kept many Aussies stranded abroad.
Hopkins announced on Instagram on Saturday that she had arrived in Sydney and further claimed that she had been intentionally breaking the country’s strict quarantine rules by opening her quarantine hotel room door while naked without a face mask when hotel employees bring her food to “frighten the s*** out of them.”
Travelers in quarantine are required to wait 30 seconds before opening the door to retrieve food and other items, and must also wear a face mask.
Though Hopkins repeatedly laughed while telling the story on Instagram, many Australians were not amused and questioned why she had been given a visa to enter the country and a place in quarantine.
Andrew Giles, Labour’s shadow minister for cities and multicultural affairs, condemned Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for giving Hopkins a “red carpet” entry to the country.
Giles described Hopkins’ flouting of quarantine rules as “grossly disrespectful to frontline workers” trying to keep Australians safe and said the government’s decision to allow Hopkins into the country was “particularly painful for the 35,000 Australians who remain stranded overseas, including Australian children trapped in India without their parents.”
“Ms Hopkins should have never been allowed into the country, and now that Ms Hopkins is openly breaching quarantine restrictions Mr Morrison must take responsibility for his failure,” Giles concluded.
New South Wales Senator Mehreen Faruqi, who claims to have not seen her daughter or mother since 2019 due to the pandemic, called Hopkins’ entry “a new low” considering “thousands of Australian families are separated from their loved ones overseas.”
“It says a lot about our priorities that Hopkins can be permitted to come here and spew her vitriol during a pandemic,” Faruqi protested. “It’s as breathtaking as it is soul-crushing.”
Some politicians, including Macnamara MP Josh Burns and former Victoria senator Derryn Hinch, called for Hopkins to be immediately deported, while others described the incident as an “insult” and a “gobsmacking disrespect.”
Nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for Hopkins to be sent back to the UK and the Twitter hashtag #SendHopkinsHome also started to trend in Australia following a wave of outcry.
Still, not all Australians were opposed to Hopkins’ entry to the country. Avi Yemini, an Israeli-Australian right-wing commentator and former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier, welcomed Hopkins “down under” in a post on Twitter. Hopkins previously worked with Yemini at the Canadian right-wing media organization Rebel News.
Hopkins is not the first celebrity to have caused controversy recently for entering Australia on non-essential business during the pandemic. American reality television star Caitlyn Jenner – of ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ fame – also arrived in Sydney this week, reportedly to appear on the Australian ‘Big Brother’ show.
The Stranded Aussies Action Network, which represents the tens of thousands of Australians stuck abroad, called Jenner’s arrival a “slap in the face for stranded Aussies” and protested “the failed government policies that allows this to happen.”
Entry to Australia is currently restricted to essential travel, including returning citizens and residents, and all arrivals must quarantine in a designated quarantine hotel for two weeks upon arrival. Many Australians are unable to return to their country, however, due to the strict entry cap imposed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government which currently applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.
Just 215 people are allowed to fly into New South Wales from abroad per day due to current restrictions, with other states limited to numbers as small as 265 entries per week. Flights to Australia from around the world have surged to as high as $30,000 as the demand to enter the country exceeds the tiny government limits.
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