Coronavirus Qld: Border troop move ‘stinks to high heaven’

Queensland-based troops pulled off border duty on the Gold Coast last week have been sent to Western Australia to combat coronavirus in a move slammed the police union says ‘stinks to high heaven’.

Queensland-based troops pulled off border duty on the Gold Coast last week have been sent to Western Australia to combat coronavirus in a move slammed the police union says ‘stinks to high heaven’.

In what he described as an ‘outrageous’ decision, Police Minister Mark Ryan said 110 Townsville-based soldiers had been deployed to WA for COVID duty just days after being withdrawn from the Queensland-NSW border.

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About 60 soldiers had been helping police man border checkpoints but they were withdrawn on Thursday, just hours before a massive increase in traffic due to the border reopening to northern NSW and long weekend.

The troops were supposedly pulled out to prepare for the storm, bushfire and cyclone season and Mr Ryan and Police Union President Ian Leavers blasted the decision to send them to WA.

“This is outrageous,” Mr Ryan said.

“It’s further proof of the Federal Government playing politics on COVID and playing politics with the Queensland border response.

“How’s that for a slap in the face for Queenslanders?”

Police Union president Ian Leavers said the decision to remove the troops from the Queensland border ostensibly to prepare for natural disasters and then send them to WA ‘stinks’.

“It stinks to high heaven and it’s nothing short of a disgrace,” he said.