How the tables have turned…
Katie Hopkins is being deported from Australia following “appalling” boasts on social media about breaking the country’s quarantine rules.
The British alt-right commentator arrived in Australia last week to appear on Big Brother VIP, their version of Celebrity Big Brother.
As per the country’s pandemic regulations, she was immediately placed under two weeks’ quarantine in a government-mandated hotel. Regulations require quarantined individuals to wait 30 seconds after their meal is delivered to open their room door and to wear a mask whenever the room door is open.
But on Saturday, Hopkins reportedly said in an Instagram live that she was deliberately disobeying the rules by opening her room door without wearing a mask and taunting hotel guards.
The Mirror UK reports she said, “The police officer who checked me in told me when they knock on my door I have to wait 30 seconds until I can open the door. I can open the door but I can only do it in a face mask,” before telling viewers she was playing a “game” to try get to the door as quickly as possible wearing no clothes or mask.
Home Affairs minister Karen Andrews said that Hopkins would be deported for her “unacceptable” behaviour amidst a surge in case numbers so high that both Sydney and Melbourne have been put in lockdown.
“It’s appalling that this individual behaved the way that she did and she will be leaving,” Andrews told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “We will be getting her out of the country as soon as we can arrange that.
“The fact that she was out there boasting about breaching quarantine was just appalling. It was a slap in the face for all those Australians who are currently in lockdown and it’s just unacceptable behaviour.”
The Seven Network, which airs Big Brother VIP, confirmed that Hopkins would not feature on the upcoming season and condemned her “irresponsible and reckless comments” in a statement.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce told ABC that those who wished to flout the laws could “pack your bongo and get out of the country.”
Immigration minister Alex Hawke used the incident as a reminder that temporary visa holders must follow public health regulations or risk the cancellation of their visas.
With NSW & Victoria in lockdown, a reminder that temporary visa holders must obey public health orders. Australian Border Force is reviewing this matter. Where visa conditions are breached, individuals may face visa cancellation in accordance with the law. https://t.co/mm2NBM1Hxd
— Alex Hawke MP (@AlexHawkeMP) July 18, 2021
Hopkins’ arrival in Australia was already met with backlash, as the government last week halved the number of Australian citizens and permanent residents permitted to return home from overseas each week. Over 34,000 Australians currently seeking to return home remain stranded.
The 46-year-old later denied breaking the rules, claiming her comments had been a joke. “My whole heart goes out to Australians and this brilliant country known for sense of humour,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Families MUST be reunited, Auzzies need the dignity of work and lockdown is the Greatest Hoax in Human History. Do not give up my darlings. Bring Australians home.”
But it was too little too late for her, as the Mirror also reports she has already been spotted at the airport this morning – wearing a mask and all.
Hopkins is well-known for her own attitude towards immigration and asylum seeking, having previously compared migrants to “cockroaches” and saying that instead of using rescue boats to save them from drowning, she’d use gunships to stop them.
