Australia Covid: Christmas party on Sydney beach poses threat of “backpacker” deportation

Australia Covid: Christmas party on Sydney beach poses threat of “backpacker” deportation

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Melbourne, Australia (CNN) – Australia’s Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs threatened to cancel visas for all visitors caught breaking the rules created to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country after hundreds of people attended a beach party in Bronte Beach in Sydney on Christmas Day.

Only 100 people were able to gather at an outdoor event in Greater Sydney on December 25, after a new Covid-19 outbreak in the city’s Northern Beaches region led to tighter restrictions over the Christmas period.
But witnesses said the crowd on Bronte beach on the afternoon of Christmas day was in the “hundreds”, many of whom were drinking alcohol and not wearing masks. Brad Hazzard, New South Wales (NSW) Health Minister, warned that the party could be an “oversized event”.

Local journalist Peter Hannam, who attended the event at 5 pm, said several people present spoke loudly with a British accent.

“These are the same people who met every summer in Bondi Beach or Bronte or anywhere else, because they want to show friends in the northern hemisphere that it is Christmas and we are in the summer,” he said.

Authorities were forced to stop the event, with the state’s riot police sent to help remove the crowd.

One person, a 25-year-old man, received a court appearance notice for failing to comply with the order to “move on,” police said. “The rest of the crowd obeyed and left the area,” the police said in a statement.

It is not immediately clear how many members of the crowd were residents or visitors on temporary visas. Australia’s borders have been closed to anyone except citizens and residents since March, but the government announced in April that temporary visa holders – including backpackers – could extend their visas.
But now, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has warned that any foreign citizen caught violating public health orders could have their visas revised or even canceled.

“Visitors to Australia need to make it very clear that if they violate public health orders, they are threatening the health and safety of Australians and the federal government will review their visas,” he said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on 29 December.

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