Queensland Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington MP, and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton have accused Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of closing the states border as a ploy to win the upcoming state election in October.
Meanwhile, the premier defended her decision, saying she is putting Queenslands economic and health recovery first.
Frecklington told reporters at the Gold Coast on Aug. 21 that the LNP has always said we must listen to the medical advice on border controls.
She accused the premier of playing politics with the border controls, using it as a “political weapon” in this election.
“I get really disappointed because Im thinking about the 234,000 Queenslanders out of work,” she said.
Frecklington supports a national approach to border controls.
When asked what she would do differently, she said: “What I am doing differently is releasing an economic plan for Queenslanders to save their lives and livelihoods.”
Dutton told 2GB radio on Aug. 2o: “In Queensland, some of the decisions that the Premiers making, really are quite odd and not based on medical advice and weve called for months for her to release the medical advice around the border closures.”
Palaszczuk pointed at Victorias aged care outbreaks, saying they had more active cases than Queensland has had during the entire pandemic.
“And yet, its Queensland that is attacked. Ill cop whatever gets thrown at me. Thats politics,” she said in a “State of the State” speech delivered to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) on Aug. 20.
The premier said her states economic recovery must be driven by Queensland for Queenslanders.
“Weve made difficult decisions. Hard decisions. Often contentious decisions,” she said. “Our borders closed for the same reason our international borders closed: so that we could stop importing the disease.”
However, Dutton said the expert medical advice never included closing the borders and noted on Aug.21 that “the country will go broke” as a result.
Still, Palaszszcuk believes her states economy has only been able to open up because the borders Read More – Source
