‘Blood on your hands’: Cricket icon SLAMS ‘disgraceful’ Scott Morrison for blocking stranded Aussies in India from coming home – as top doctor warns Aussies could die in the Covid-ravaged nation
Australian cricket legend Michael Slater has slammed Scott Morrison days after the federal government stopped all flights returning Aussies home from Covid-ravaged India.
Slater, who was in India as a commentator for the Indian Premier League, said the Morrison government had ‘blood on its hands’.
The former Test opening batsman managed to escape to the Maldives and now must wait the designated two weeks to return to Australia.
The criticism comes as the country’s chief medical officer issued a dire warning about the consequences of the travel ban for Australians still stranded in India.
Former Test cricketer Michael Slater (pictured) has sparked controversy by claiming Scott Morrison had blood on his hands
Slater, who was in India as a commentator for the Indian Premier League, slammed Scott Morrison (pictured) for blocking Australians from coming home from India – which is suffering a huge Covid outbreak
Slater is furious about the treatment of Australian cricket stars still stranded in India.
‘If our government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home,’ he wrote on Twitter on Monday night.
‘It’s a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this?
‘How about you sort out quarantine system? I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect.’
Slater doubled down on his tirade in a follow-up tweet.
‘For those who think this is a money exercise. Well forget it. This is what I do for a living and I have not made a penny having left early. So please stop the abuse and think of the thousands dying in India each day. It’s called empathy. If only our government had some!’
Slate’s comments sparked a divided reaction online.
Meanwhile, Professor Paul Kelly has expressed his concerns about the travel ban in a letter to Health Minister Greg Hunt, amid fears stranded Australians could die in India.
‘These include the risk of serious illness without access to healthcare, the potential for Australians to be stranded in a transit country, and in a worst-case scenario, deaths,’ he wrote in a letter to Mr Hunt tabled in parliament on Monday
‘I consider that these serious implications can be mitigated through having the restriction only temporarily in place, ie a pause, and by ensuring there are categories of exemptions.’
More to follow.