The supplies are critical to the fight against coronavirus.

The company was allowed to export bulk supplies of surgical masks, thermometers, anti-bacterial wipes, hand sanitisers and gloves.

IN OTHER NEWS:

We now have our health workers, police and all Australians placed at risk because of shortages of the very items needed to protect them.

This was not illegal and the company on its own website stated it was doing this.

On Friday, further reports emerged that another Chinese property company sent 82 tonnes of such medical goods to Wuhan in late February.

My question is, why did our federal government allow this to happen?

A further failure of the government was in allowing cruise ship passengers to disembark in Sydney without health checks.

This resulted in a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The federal government has responsibility for protecting our borders (not NSW Health) as they so often like to tell us.

The relevant minister, presumably Peter Dutton, could have used his ministerial powers to disallow the export of those critical supplies.

In both cases the government has failed to exercise real protection of its citizens. The consequences for us are severe.

John Howard once said "we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come".

Tough words, a bit of a dog whistle to the Pauline Hanson voters he and the Coalition hoped to attract.

It appears to have worked a treat, especially since the Coalition appears to have adopted her racist immigration policies wholeheartedly, even setting up Border Force (complete with dark suits) to look totally impressive.

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Last week the government let "133 coronavirus-infected passengers off the Ruby Princess Cruise ship in Sydney" ("Blame game over passenger release", The Border Mail, March 26).

These folk were let off the ship without health checks and left to cross Australia and even to depart to other countries.

Border Force blames NSW Health and now the shipping company is being blamed.

What ever happened to ministerial responsibility?

What is the point of having a Border Force with no teeth?

The minister responsible, Peter Dutton, Home Affairs, should be held to account and resign immediately as should Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who proudly displays a boat on his office shelf stating "I stopped the boats".

I find it ironic that a government that proudly acclaims its strength in stopping the boats as front and centre of its policies lets the one boat that really should have been stopped get through.

A big thank you to Victoria Ellis for sharing her thoughts on self-isolation on the farm in Friday's The Border Mail.

I thought she summed up really well the plus and minuses facing the farming community in these difficult times.

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