Politics

Even Andrew Bolt Reckons Banning Flights From India Is Racist As Hell

Heartbreaking, the worst person you know just made a great point.

by Michelle Rennex  3 May 2021
Andrew Bolt Racist India Flight Ban

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In a turn of events that literally no one saw coming, Andrew Bolt has actually said something good for once.

Andrew Bolt, the conservative commentator who works for both Sky News and News Corp, actually condemned the governments decision to stop Australians flying home from India. Even stranger, Bolt even went so far as shared that the ban “stinks of racism”.

In his latest Herald Sun column, Bolt said that he was “ashamed” that the government had essentially made it “a crime” for Indian-Australians to return home and explained that the decision was rooted in “fear, ignorance and incompetence”.

“I hate people playing the race card. But even I must now say I am ashamed of Australia, which is making it a crime for Indian-Australians to come back home,” Andrew Bolt opened his column.

“To me, it stinks of racism to tell 8000 Indian Australians trying to come home that they must stay in India, in what WA’s Premier admitted was the ‘epicentre of death and destruction’.”

Bolt also noted that Australians with Indian descent may now feel that they are outsiders and “not ‘real’ Australians” following the government’s decision to not let them back home to access the hospitals their taxes helped pay for.

“This policy is so mean and irrational that I must also blame racism. I can’t believe we would impose such a travel ban on white Australians fleeing from, say, England,” Andrew Bolt added.

“These are Australian citizens. They renounced Indian citizenship to become Australians. Australia is their country, with a duty of care to them,” he continued. “I get that we want to stop the virus sneaking into Australia… but it should mean something to be Australian.”

“It should mean that when disaster strikes, wherever you are, Australia will try to save you. That’s not happening here… it’s every man for himself.”

Naturally people were taken aback that Andrew Bolt not only called out racism for what it was, but that he actually made a good point that most of Australia agrees with. It truly is a strange, but very welcomed, pivot for Andrew Bolt.

The ban Bolt is referring to is, of course, the pause on all direct flights from India as a deadly second wave swept across the country.

This ban — that is in place from today and is set to be reviewed on May 15 — means that the over 9,000 Australians who are registered as wanting to return home are stranded in India while the country grapples with a lack of supplies and facilities to deal with the high number of cases — including members of the Australian cricket team.

Over the weekend, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced that anyone caught flying into Australia during the pause could incur $66,600 in fines and a possible five-year jail sentence under the Biosecurity Act, but Scott Morrison insists the move isn’t racist.

While chatting to Ray Hadley on 2GB this morning, the Prime Minister said that the pause on all flights from India is “about health” and shared that he was “disappointed” over the claims that the racist move was, well, racist.

Not making himself look any better, Scott Morrison also tried to defend the decision by sharing that the government did the same despicable act a year ago when Australian borders were closed to mainland China.

I hate to say it, but I wish Scott Morrison would just listen to Andrew Bolt on this one. Just this once.