More Australians to get home with expansion of Howard Springs

The Howard Springs quarantine centre in the Northern Territory will more than double its capacity over the coming months as the Morrison government faces calls from Victoria and Queensland to open two new facilities in their states.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday that the quarantine facility near Darwin will expand to 2000 returned Australians a fortnight, up from 850, by late April. 

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‘We are not paying that bill’: Queensland holds PM to ransom for quarantine hub

Queensland will refuse to cough up cash it owes New South Wales for hotel quarantine stays until Prime Minister Scott Morrison approves a proposed pop-up quarantine hub near Toowoomba.

The quarantine mega-hub on the outskirts of Toowoomba, which would be built and paid for by local construction firm Wagners, needs federal government approval to go ahead. 

Applying pressure on Mr Morrison to move ahead on the pitch, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the Queensland government would refuse to pay a $30 million quarantine bill issued by NSW until the federal government allowed repatriation flights to land at Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport.

Mr Miles said his state was “stepping up where the Commonwealth have failed” by proposing the national quarantine facility in southern Queensland. 

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