Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every year thousands of families travel from Perth to Bali. Bali is a wonderful destination. Only four hours flight from Perth, it's Bintangs, boardies and a week in the sun. It's no wonder it's a holiday hotspot for many of my constituents and many people in Western Australia. But it's the lousy conduct of DFAT employees and insurance providers that has recently come to my attention. They have let down one of my constituents, Mr Wayne Weller, who I met with some time ago about this subject. It's important that I put this on the public record to bring this to the attention of the government and Australians and also to give Wayne a voice in this place.

A few months ago, Wayne contacted my office in urgent need of assistance. It was his last port of call after reaching out to DFAT and his insurance provider to no avail. While on a family holiday to Bali, Wayne's son suddenly fell ill and was admitted into hospital with life-threatening complications. Wayne immediately contacted his insurance provider, Sydney based InsureandGo—I want to note that name in this House—only to be told that all procedures required approvals before funds could be released. It meant that critical treatments, including blood tests, pain medication, X-rays and surgery, all of which you would expect under comprehensive travel insurance, would not be covered until the provider granted approval in a process that could take anywhere between eight and 36 hours—crucial hours, time that could make the difference between life and death. Wayne and his family had to wait a dangerously long time for approval for those procedures. This isn't good enough, and it's not the standard that Australians expect.

At the same time, Wayne and his family's 30-day tourist visas were close to expiring. The penalty for overstaying visas in Bali is a fee of $300 per person per day, with the risk of imprisonment for those who breach their visa conditions. Desperate for assistance, Wayne contacted the Australian Consulate-General in Bali. Any Australian travelling overseas has the right to access consular assistance, and they have every right to expect it to be good and timely. I don't think it's much at all to expect correct, up-to-date information from our officials abroad. Instead, Wayne says he was met with untimely and unhelpful advice from DFAT. Wayne was told to show up at the airport, cash in hand, and expect to pay a fine unless he was lucky enough to find a sympathetic immigration official who would help him out and let him off the hook. This was lousy advice from Australian officials who should have known better.

I can't begin to imagine the distress Wayne must have felt upon receiving this advice, let alone in these circumstances. It was very, very expensive with the health care and also potentially having to pay his way for additional time in Bali to be with his son. It was this troubling encounter that led Wayne to my office. My staff suggested that Wayne contact the Indonesian consulate in Perth to seek further advice about visa extensions. The Indonesian consulate responded promptly, advising that extensions were easy to obtain and only $150.

While my team was happy to assist Wayne and relieved that the matter was resolved, it raises the question: how did it get to this stage? How is it that the Indonesian consulate could assist Wayne from Perth but the Australian consulate in Bali was incapable of providing the same simple yet crucial advice, at a time of great distress for the Weller family, when they needed it? It's important to note that the Wellers did everything right before travelling. They invested in comprehensive travel insurance, and they were let down. When they hit trouble they contacted the Australian consulate, who also let them down. All Wayne wanted at the end of this was his voice recorded in this House. In the words of Wayne himself: 'Every Australian agency that could have possibly helped failed—and my family was left on its own and abandoned.' Thousands of Australians are travelling to, and continue to travel to, Bali. According to the Perth based Indonesia Institute, more than 1.2 million Australians travelled to Bali pre pandemic in 2019. I'm sure most believe the Australian consulate would do the right thing when they need it most, but, sadly, this does not seem to be the case.

Thankfully, Adam has been transported to Brisbane for further treatment, but he still faces a long road to recovery, and I wish him all the very best. No Australian should feel abandoned by representatives from their own country in a time of need, so my message today from this House, on behalf of Wayne, and proudly as his representative, is: DFAT, do your jobs. There are many who do their jobs, but, to those who failed on that day: do your jobs and look after Australians when they're in need. I want to acknowledge the Indonesian consulate in Perth. They're great friends. They did their job, they acted promptly and they helped the family in distress. On behalf of Wayne, we are grateful for your assistance.

Finally, to insurance companies: if you let Australians down, we will name you in this place, as I have done. Wayne, I hope you feel satisfied that I have raised your voice in this place and warned other Australians who are travelling to Bali to make sure that they get their affairs in order before they go and that they know who to contact if they find themselves in a similar situation.