Doorstop interview with Minister Butler, Adelaide – 15 May 2026

MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: Thanks for coming today as I update you on the repatriation of passengers from MV Hondius that has been impacted by an outbreak of Hantavirus. As most Australians know, those passengers have been waiting for a flight back home. That flight left the Netherlands yesterday evening and landed a short time ago at the RAAF Base Pearce, just northeast of Perth. The passengers, I'm pleased to say, remain in good health. They were subject to an initial health assessment upon landing, although they were also subject to ongoing assessment by a doctor on the plane for the entire flight. They will be subject, now they have been transported to the Bullsbrook quarantine facility, to a more detailed health assessment and that will include another PCR test for the hantavirus. They underwent a test before they flew out of the Netherlands, that test was returned negative for all six passengers, but they'll be tested again. I'm pleased to say they are in good health.
 
I'd also like to report that the World Health Organization advice about the outbreak globally remains unchanged from my update yesterday. That is to say, there remain 11 confirmed cases of Hantavirus, tragically three deaths associated with those 11 cases, and it remains the case that all of the cases that have been identified around the world are from people who were on the cruise ship Hondius. There has been no ongoing transmission of the virus detected anywhere in the world so far. To remind people, the flight that's happened from the Netherlands to RAAF Base Pearce in Western Australia was subject to very, very strict protocols and guidelines that have been developed by the Centre for Disease Control and endorsed by the Australian Health Protection Committee, that is the committee of all of the jurisdictions' chief health officers, chaired by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer. And in particular, the crew and the relevant doctor were in full PPE, personal protection equipment, for the entire duration of that flight.
 
Those six passengers having returned to Australia, four Australian citizens, a permanent Australian resident, and as I said, a New Zealand citizen whom we have agreed to include in our repatriation operation, are now subject to an order under the Biosecurity Act to remain in quarantine at the Bullsbrook facility, the National Resilience Centre there in Perth, which is effectively next door to the RAAF base where the plane landed, for three weeks, with a review to be conducted during those three weeks to determine what arrangements will be put in place beyond that time.
 
I want to stress; this is one of the strongest quarantine arrangements for passengers being repatriated from this cruise ship you'll find anywhere in the world. Most countries where passengers are being repatriated, countries like the US, the UK, most European countries, are quarantining in a central place, whether that's a centre or a hospital. They're repatriated passengers for two or three days and then allowing those passengers to return home. We have taken the decision to take a stronger approach to quarantine arrangements than that, because we are determined to ensure there is no risk at all of any transmission of this virus into the Australian community. Happy to take questions.
 
JOURNALIST: So you said the passengers are still testing negative. Are they showing any signs of symptoms?
 
BUTLER: There are no symptoms, both during the duration of the flight and through the initial health assessment that was conducted at RAAF Base Pearce. They will be subject to a further, more detailed health assessment now they've arrived at the quarantine facility. That facility is staffed by some expert staff that have been deployed from the Darwin National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre. This centre was set up about 25 years ago in the wake of the Bali bombing. It is staffed by health professionals who are particularly the expert in emergencies, including infectious disease emergencies. So that more detailed assessment will be undertaken, including a test for the hantavirus. To your question, they were tested, the passengers were tested in the Netherlands before the flight. They all tested negative. We will now be testing them now they have arrived in Australia again. Obviously we don't have the results of those tests. Those tests need to be then flown to Melbourne which is where PCR tests for the hantavirus are processed through the Doherty Institute. But all of the passengers will now be put into quarantine at the Bullsbrook facility.
 
JOURNALIST: Can you tell us a little bit about the day-to-day life of these passengers now? Will they be confined to their rooms or will they be allowed to leave and walk around?
 
BUTLER: There are balconies in these rooms. There are very strict protocols that have been developed by the CDC, the Centre for Disease Control, endorsed by every jurisdiction's Chief Health Officer through the Health Protection Committee. These are new facilities. They were built towards the end of the COVID pandemic, so they're new facilities. They have Wi-Fi, they have television, they have balconies. Obviously, I'm sure these passengers would prefer to be home. I thank them for their cooperation right through this very difficult ordeal for them. They spent weeks on this cruise ship, they've spent time in the Netherlands in quarantine and they're now going to spend three weeks at this facility. But this facility is very modern, and the protocols are the best protocols that can be put in place by health experts.
 
JOURNALIST: And what's the process once they arrive at Pearce Air Base? Will they be tested there as well?

BUTLER: They've arrived at Pearce Air Base. That's where the plane landed. That is just north-east of Perth, probably I think an hour out of the Perth CBD, and effectively next door to the Bullsbrook National Resilience Centre, effectively the quarantine facility. This is a 500 bed quarantine facility that was built towards the end of the COVID pandemic. It's purpose built for exactly this sort of case, and so they were, they have already been transported from the air force base to the facility. They are now in a position where they can undergo those more detailed health assessments I mentioned.
 
JOURNALIST: It's obviously been a very long ordeal for these passengers. I’m guessing there was a great sense of relief for them to finally touch down back home?
 
BUTLER: We've been careful to make sure we're in close contact with them right through this ordeal. There's been a lot of work, obviously, virtually through town hall meetings involving my department, involving foreign affairs officials, the CDC. They've been very cooperative and I thank them all for that. I appreciate what a difficult ordeal this has been for them, and I'm sure they wish they were able to get home but we have taken this decision, we’ve put in place these quarantine orders because our principal responsibility is to keep the broader community healthy and safe. And we've taken a precautionary approach to do that. One of the strongest quarantine arrangements you'll find anywhere in the world in response to this hantavirus outbreak.
 
JOURNALIST: And what are the protocols in place if someone does get sick or show symptoms?
 
BUTLER: That will really depend on the degree of illness. Obviously, we've been talking to the WA Government, WA Health in particular, about that eventuality. We rate it as a low risk, but obviously we've needed to put in place protocols to deal with it. There are hospitals in the Perth metropolitan area that have the facilities to deal with a case like that. Obviously they have the highly trained staff to deal with it, doctors and nurses and other staff to deal with it. But they also have the physical facilities to deal with a case like a hantavirus case that would need to be isolated. Again, I don't rate that as at all likely, but of course we've put in place arrangements with the WA Government to deal with that eventuality if it were to happen.
 
I want to stress, though, WA Health staff are not involved in the operation at Bullsbrook. That facility is staffed by, as I said, staff from the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, a Commonwealth operation that has seen staff deployed from their headquarters in Darwin. They're already on site, they've been on site for a while preparing for the arrival of these six passengers.
 
JOURNALIST: And the staff on board this flight, the pilots and so forth, what kind of restrictions will they be subject to?
 
BUTLER: That will depend on the test that is returned for the six passengers. Obviously the CDC and the Health Protection Committee have been developing protocols for the crew and the doctor, including the doctor who travelled with these passengers. First of all, it's important to say they spent the entire flight in full PPE to ensure there was next to no risk of transmission. But we also want to just assure ourselves that the test of the six passengers returns negative so that there was no virus in those passengers to transmit, leaving aside the fact that the crew was in full PPE. And the protocol and the guidance from the CDC and the Health Protection Committee is that if that test returns negative, and given that the crew were in full PPE for the duration of the flight, then they would not be required to be quarantined.
 
JOURNALIST: When will you know those results?
 
BUTLER: Those results will take 24 hours or so to turn around. They have to be flown to Melbourne obviously, and then processed in Melbourne by the Doherty Institute. Until that test is returned, the crew will be in isolation at Bullsbrook as well. Thanks very much.