On March 17 2020, the WHO declared that COVID-19 was a global pandemic.

In July 2020, driven by a 24/7 media cycle, a fearful public and political agendas, the Australian Government actively prevented its citizens and permanent residents returning home from overseas by capping the numbers of passengers allowed on international flights. Australia was the only country in the world to take such a drastic step and lock its own citizens out during a global emergency. Hundreds of thousands of Australians were stranded overseas, and the Australian government only allowed 30 people per international flight to enter the country.

If – by some miracle – we did manage to get home, we were detained in hotels for 14 days. We were not allowed fresh air or human contact apart from the health staff who tested us for COVID on Day 2 and Day 12. We were charged $3,000 for our own detention. The quarantine fee was introduced at the same time as international flight caps. Australians locked out of their own states or territories were also forced into hotel quarantine.

This podcast has come about because of the wonderful people in the Australians Challenging Quarantine Fees Facebook group. The world seems to have moved on, but we are still traumatised by the Australian government's response to the pandemic. And we are still getting invoices for the quarantine fee.

These are our stories because we must Never Forget What They Did.

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