‘Pack your bongo and go home’, Australia’s deputy PM tells Katie Hopkins amid quarantine row

Border force has launched investigation into whether far-right commentator breached quarantine rules

Australia’s deputy prime minister has told Katie Hopkins to “pack her bongo” and “get out of the country” if she is found to have broken strict quarantine rules.

The far-right commentator was placed into two weeks of quarantine in a government-mandated hotel in Sydney after she arrived in Australia earlier this week to take part in the show Big Brother VIP.

However, she reportedly said in an Instagram live video that she was deliberately breaking quarantine rules by taunting guards and opening the door of her hotel room without wearing a mask.

On Sunday, the Seven Network – which airs the reality TV programme – confirmed that she would not feature in the show, releasing a statement that said it condemned her “irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine”.

But the row has now drawn the ire of Australia’s outspoken deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce.

Mr Joyce was previously noted for his 2015 feud with Johnny Depp, after authorities claimed the actor and his then-wife Amber Heard has brought their dogs to Australia illegally on a private jet.

“I’m the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp’s dogs,” Mr Joyce said. “I’ve got no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws.”

“If you want to flout our laws then you pack your bongo and get out of the country.”

On Sunday, immigration minister Alex Hawke said the border force had launched an investigation, and that Ms Hopkins’ visa could be cancelled if she is found to have breached its conditions.

It came as the state of Victoria – which includes Melbourne – was put into a five-day-lockdown as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has increased infection numbers. Sydney in New South Wales (NSW) has already been put under restrictions.

About 12.2 million Australians, nearly half the nation’s population, are in lockdown.

In October 2020, Ms Hopkins angered passengers when she flew from LA to London without wearing a mask.

On her way to Heathrow Airport earlier this week, she broadcast herself on Instagram riding a bus without wearing a mask. She accused Mayor of London Sadiq Khan of “wanting to keep Londoners muzzled” after he had ruled that masks will remain compulsory on the Transport for London network after 19 July, when existing rules come to an end.