PODCAST · government
Never Forget What They Did
by Diane Lee
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
Episodes
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Andrea's Story
Andrea – a Queenslander – and her husband had taken their two youngest sons to Germany (the country where she was born) in early 2019, and was there when the pandemic was declared in March 2020. While she stayed in Germany with her sons, her husband returned to Queensland to be near their oldest...
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Peter's Story
Peter was in south-west China when the pandemic was declared, on a regular business trip and visiting his wife's family. Already experiencing lockdowns in China from early 2020 even before the pandemic was declared, Peter heeded the early advice from the Morrison government to shelter in place....
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Raewyn's Story
A Kiwi, but now back in New Zealand, Raewyn was living in Victoria with her husband when the pandemic was declared. With most of her family in New Zealand, including parents and children, being able to leave Australia quickly was a concern. Towards the end of 2020, and between work contracts,...
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Daniel's Story
With business interests that takes him all over the world, Daniel found himself stuck in Zambia in August 2021, trying to get back home to Perth, Western Australia. Unfortunately for him, he was impacted by not only Australia's international flights caps, but also the "South African" variant that...
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Judy's Story
Judy and her partner, a Kiwi, moved to New Zealand in November 2019. With family in both countries it was their intention to go back and forth between the two. Stuck in New Zealand in 2020 when the pandemic was declared, she rode out it out there, not anticipating it would go on for as long as it...
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Carl's Story
Carl had been living in the UK since 2005 but came back to Australia regularly to visit his mother – who lives in Queensland – and to take care of his tenanted property. When his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in July 2020, he scrambled to get home. While he found a flight back, the...
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Kerry's Story
Kerry had been working in Singapore since 2017 — her first experience as an expat. By 2020, she was feeling homesick and lonely so she returned to Melbourne for six weeks in February, just before the pandemic was declared by the WHO. Returning to Singapore in July because she still had work...
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Mary and Cubby's Story
Since 2014, retirees Mary and Cubby have been staying in their family apartment on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, spending five months of the year in the UK. They were there when the pandemic was declared. Being in a vulnerable group, they decided it was safer to stay put than...
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Stuart's Story
When the pandemic was declared, Stuart was working on a 12 month humanitarian aid contract for Oxfam in wartorn Syria. When his contract ended, he spent the next eight months trying to exit the wartorn country, and return home to Australia. Needing to depressurise after spending 20 months in a...
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Karen's Story
In late 2019, Karen's two sons were on a routine Christmas visit to see their father in rural Canada. In 2020, the world shut down, and, as unaccompanied minors, it was impossible for Karen to get her boys back to Australia. They were only allowed to do one international flight on their own. It…
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Diane's Story
In November 2019, having decided to return to Australia from Vietnam with her cat, Diane knew that it was a six month process because of Australia's strict quarantine regulations. She started the process well in advance, and then there was a double whammy: Malaysia was removed as a through…
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Never Forget What They Did Trailer
In this podcast, we deep dive into the personal stories of people impacted by the Australian government's response to the covid-19 pandemic. What was it really like trying to get home during a global emergency when our government abandoned us, and what happened when we did? Hosted on Acast. See...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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
HOSTED BY
Diane Lee
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Never Forget What They Did have?
Never Forget What They Did currently has 12 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Never Forget What They Did about?
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...
How often does Never Forget What They Did release new episodes?
Never Forget What They Did has 12 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Never Forget What They Did?
You can listen to Never Forget What They Did on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Never Forget What They Did?
Never Forget What They Did is created and hosted by Diane Lee.
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