Senator Jacqui Lambie has highlighted her concerns about Australians returning from overseas amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The outspoken politician believes they should be quarantined in detention centres like the one in Christmas Island to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Around 40,000 Aussies have registered to return Down Under, however, the cap on international arrivals has been drastically cut for the next month.
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The move was designed to allow officials to 'manage the flow' of travellers who could have possible been exposed to the new mutant strains of Covid-19 found in the UK, South Africa and Japan.
But Lambie is worried hotel quarantine isn't enough and wants these travellers to be isolated from the community.
"We've got empty camps out there, we have empty detention centres," Senator Lambie said. "I don't even give a stuff if it is Christmas Island.
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"If you are an overseas traveller coming home ... for the safety of everybody else in the country, that means you have to stay in these places."
Lambie insisted that it was of great importance to get Australians home as fast as possible.
"Get them in those detention centres so we can get them back to daily lives and back in the country and get them working," she said. "I don't think those in power in Canberra have any other choice.
"We have a new strain running around now that is a lot more contagious. We have to lift the bar."
The debate comes as experts grow increasingly concerned about the mutant strain of the coronavirus and have suggested whether border restrictions need to be tightened.
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It also followed the case of a hotel quarantine cleaner being infected with the UK mutation of Covid-19, which caused Greater Brisbane to be plunged into full-scale lockdown for three days.
The new variant, which was first detected in the UK, is said to be more contagious than the original virus that was found in late 2019.
Epidemiologist and public health specialist Tony Blakely from the University of Melbourne reckons we need to look at potentially shutting off our doors to people from Britain.
He told ABC Radio he wasn't advocating for the borders to close, however, suggested it could be an option.
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"We can close the border, that's quite radical, but it's on the table as a possibility...or we strengthen the border," Dr Blakely said.
"To strengthen the border, we test people before they get on the plane - that would weed out some of them, not all of them - (as well as) masks on the plane, very good processes in the transit. And then when you arrive here, really, really good quarantine.
Featured Image Credit: InstagramTopics: Australia, Politics, Covid-19