‘We Were Demonised’: Quarantined Australians Among 2,000 Submissions to COVID-19 Inquiry

A couple who were stranded in the UK when COVID-19 hit and forced into quarantine on return to Australia in June 2020 are among more than 2,000 submissions to the Commonwealth Government COVID-19 Response inquiry. The inquiry, chaired by Robyn Kruk and including panel members Catherine Burnett and Dr. Angela Jackson, published the public response on March 27. Qantas, Woolworths, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Home Affairs, Fair Work, state government departments, federal departments, doctors, advocacy groups, universities, legal groups, unions, political parties and privacy advocates are among those that provided submissions. Mr. Ken Bairstow and his wife Mrs. Bairstow claim that they were “treated as criminals and demonised” when they returned to Western Australia (WA) from their annual trip to the UK in 2020....