Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has defended the government's plan to quarantine coronavirus evacuees on Christmas Island, reassuring them they'll receive medical treatment in a high standard facility.
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Negotiations are under way with Beijing to clear the way for Australians locked down in the virus epicentre Wuhan to be extracted from the Chinese city and flown to Christmas Island where they will be quarantined for 14 days.
Mr Dutton said evacuees would have access to medical treatment under the plan which is designed to keep the broader population safe.
"The government is making a decision here to get Australians out of a very difficult position, but our responsibility otherwise is to make sure we keep Australians safe," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
"So we don't inadvertently want to bring people back who may be infected by the virus."
He earlier said there was no other facility in Australia that could accommodate the number of potential evacuees.
""I can't clear a hospital in Sydney or Melbourne to accommodate 600 people," he told the Nine Network.
Mr Dutton said the plan was hatched in consultation with Australia's chief medical officer, who receives frequent advice from the World Health Organisation.
But Australian Medical Association boss Tony Bartone believes there are better alternatives to sending evacuees to Christmas Island, where specialist Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMAT) usually reserved for disaster relief are being flown.
The history of Christmas Island as a place deemed by some not to be up to scratch for asylum seekers could add to the fears of the group, Dr Bartone said.
"That is imposing another level of stress, another level of worry and concern in an already worried group," he told reporters in Melbourne.
The AMA has offered to work with the government and health authorities to develop a list of alternative facilities in Australia, with some medical specialists suggesting Woodside Barracks near Adelaide and another facility just north of Katherine in the NT.
"These are defence facilities that can be readily scaled up to provide the level of accommodation ... during the 14 days that you're asking this group of Australians to remain in self-isolation," Dr Bartone said.
Mr Dutton said images of the Christmas Island facility would be released in a bid to alleviate concerns about the centre's standards.
More than 600 Australian citizens in Wuhan, where the deadly virus began, have registered for advice or assistance.
But Mr Dutton remains unsure how many would put their hand up for a flight.
Priority will be given to the elderly and children and those who have been in Wuhan for the least amount of time.
If anyone has the disease they will be transferred to an Australian hospital, Mr Dutton said.
The minister has also sought to quell concerns about the Tamil family being held on the island, saying they are in a completely separate area.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese questioned the motivation for using Christmas Island.
"I think that it is unclear whether that is motivated by a genuine belief that is the only option," he told ABC radio.
"Or whether the embarrassment of the government opening Christmas Island having a husband, a wife from Biloela and their four-year-old and two-year-old daughters there at the cost of tens of millions of dollars."
Nine cases in Australia have been confirmed - four in NSW, three in Victoria and two in Queensland.
Australian Associated Press
