Howard calls for HIV immigrant ban

Prime Minister John Howard today said people with HIV should not be allowed to migrate to Australia and that the government was investigating whether it could tighten existing restrictions.

Asked whether people with the virus that causes Aids should be allowed into Australia as migrants or refugees, Howard said: “My initial reaction is no.”

He said that there may be “humanitarian considerations” in certain cases, and that he would like to take “more counsel” on the issue.

“I think we should have the most stringent possible conditions in relation to that nationwide, and I know the health minister is concerned about that and is examining ways of tightening things up,” Mr Howard said.

Mr Howard was asked about the issue during a visit to Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, where the state health minister said this week that 70 of the 334 new HIV infection cases reported in Victoria in 2006 were among immigrants who had arrived in the country with the virus.

Don Baxter of the non-government group the Australian Federation of Aids Organisations said HIV tests were among health checks prospective immigrants were given already, and infection was already grounds for rejection on the grounds that an HIV-positive person could impose an unfair burden on the public health system.

“It’s very tight already,” Mr Baxter said.

Many countries, including the United States, impose restrictions on immigration and visa approvals for people with HIV, though there are often exceptions in special cases.