Queensland Health takes eight months to process RTI request

Documents detailing the health advice used by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to keep the state’s borders closed have been kept secret by Queensland Health, with the blame put on a tech issue.

Documents detailing the health advice used by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to keep the state’s borders closed have been kept secret by Queensland Health, which says it can’t access chief health officer Jeannette Young’s emails because they “keep corrupting”.

Gold Coast business owner Michael Chase-Smith lodged a Right to Information request in December asking Queensland Health to release the health advice recommending the state’s borders remained closed in the final months of last year.

Eight months and $960 later, the documents remain unreleased, with Queensland Health citing the large volume of documents as the reason for the delay.

In June Mr Chase-Smith received an email from the RTI officer declaring his request was “extremely time consuming” and said there were “issues with accessing Dr Young’s emails as they keep corrupting”.

Mr Chase-Smith, executive director of Orbit World Travel, said border closures and snap lockdowns had “savaged” his business.

Southport ‘s Orbit World Travel Executive Director Michael Chase-Smith says his business was ‘savaged’ by border closures. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

He questioned why Dr Young’s advice, which had underpinned the Premier’s Covid-19 announcements, was difficult to find and collate.

“I’m not sure there’s adequate medical and health advice at hand and it’s been documented,” Mr Chase-Smith said.

“How could it not be readily at hand if the chief health officer and Premier can stand up every day and tell us they’re operating on health advice?”

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young talks to the media conference about the Covid update in Brisbane. Picture John Gass

Mr Chase-Smith said he lodged the RTI request last year following frustrations with the state government, which kept the border closed to NSW and Victoria between September and December despite few cases of Covid-19 in Greater Sydney.

“In July we thought we’d come out of it and we thought we’d see some real travel starting,” he said.

“Rather than just lock out Victoria, Queensland shut its borders for another three or four months and it crucified us.

“We’re talking millions of dollars in lost revenue.”

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said the RTI team processed a high volume of requests, with Covid-19 adding another category of requests.

“In some cases, the search for documents can take longer than first anticipated and extensions may be sought by the RTI team,” she said.

Mr Chase-Smith said Orbit World Travel, a family business specialising in corporate travel, had been “successful and profitable” through previous global disruptions.

“This particular situation, however, and how it’s been managed, has had a more damaging effect than any by far,” he said.

“It’s savaged our business and life.

“Governments can’t keep treating us this way and then not financially support us.”