Dannii Minogue’s quarantine caused scramble for authorities

Dannii Minogue’s controversial exemption to quarantine at a private home in Queensland caused an internal scramble for authorities behind the scenes.

Queensland Health’s decision to allow Dannii Minogue to quarantine at home in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a scramble behind the scenes, documents reveal.

On July 14 it was revealed that television star Minogue was granted an exemption by the chief health officer to quarantine at a home on the Gold Coast before filming of The Masked Singer began.

It came as several Queenslanders with serious medical issues were forced to quarantine in hotels and exemptions for funerals were denied.

Dannii Minogue was granted an exemption to quarantine at home in July.

In Right to Information documents obtained by the Brisbane Times, emails sent by Queensland Police show that the exemption caused confusion among authorities.

“This morning the Health Minister confirmed in the media that Ms Danielle Minogue has been granted a ‘special exemption’ from hotel quarantine and that she is currently in self-quarantine on the Gold Coast,” a Detective superintendent said in an email.

“Can Queensland Health please provide information to Task Force Sierra Linnet around that conditions of Ms Minogue’s self-quarantine, a copy of the self-quarantine direction, and details about who will be responsible for compliance checking in this regard.

“This responsibility has traditionally rested with Task Force Sierra Linnet where people are in self-quarantine in the community however we are currently unaware of the arrangements made between Q-Health and Ms Minogue.”

Dannii Minogue was controversially allowed to quarantine in a home. Picture: Channel 10

A Queensland Health spokesperson responded two days later and said the plan would not be shared with Queensland Police due to confidentiality, and Minogue’s quarantine was being managed by an independent third party.

The reason why Minogue, who suffers from claustrophobia, was granted a special exemption was also revealed in the secret documents with Queensland Health approached in late June by an ‘independent third party’ with a proposal to manage Minogue’s quarantine in a Gold Coast mansion.

The proposal included a COVIDSafe plan, 24/7 security, logging all arrivals and departures, a transport plan between the airport and home, and COVID-19 test results sent to the Gold Coast Public Health Unit.

Police were not informed about Dannii Minogue’s exemption. Picture: Supplied

Just over a week later, on July 3, a senior Queensland Health medical adviser recommended the request be approved “as a proof of concept private international quarantine arrangement”.

In an email from the adviser to Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young, it said the proposal would “facilitate entry of key individuals travelling internationally for the entertainment, film and sporting industries particularly to the Gold Coast film and entertainment industry”.

“There is potential to support the re-establishment of a significant industry in Queensland,” the email said.

It also referred to the success of Queensland hosting ‘hubs’ for AFL teams from Melbourne.

Documents also reveal a staff member from the Premier’s office wrote to Queensland Health asking how to respond to a large volume of backlash from the public.