Media Release

Please see below comments from Mr Katter in light of reports that a Cairns patient is being tested for the deadly Ebola virus in a Cairns hospital.

Mr Katter’s electorate of Kennedy includes the southern areas of Cairns and the Cairns Airport is the main service point for his electorate, with both an international and domestic terminal. The Cairns Hospital is the main hospital for the northern area of the electorate of Kennedy.

“It is simply unbelievable and incomprehensive how a person could get into Australia from an Ebola infected country. What is the purpose of our quarantine and migration services?

"There cannot be any compromise with this. If you want to go to one of these countries, however laudable your motivation, I am sorry but when you return to Australia, you must be quarantined for three weeks – not home quarantined.

"The incomprehensive irresponsibility of the authorities in this, if you want a visa to go to an Ebola infected country then when you come back to Australia you must go into quarantined isolation.

"We love these people, and we honour these Australians for being self-sacrificing, but compared to the risk they create for our country - it is not remotely comparable. One person’s moral and humanitarian ambitions are being carried out at a very grave cost to Australia.”