Who pays for regional Queensland quarantine camps

A detailed plan surrounding regional quarantine camps will be presented to the Federal Government this week. But who will bear the cost is yet to be revealed.

The plan for regional “quarantine camps” will be presented to Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week, as one of the biggest backers of the plan says the Federal Government should be responsible for stumping up for the purpose built facility.

The Courier-Mail understands while Annastacia Palaszczuk discussed the proposal with Mr Morrison on Friday, he has not yet seen a formal proposal.

It will involve a facility at Toowoomba, connected to the Wellcamp Airport, and another at Gladstone.

A purpose built facility near Wellcamp Airport has been proposed for a quarantine camp. Picture: Mark Cranitch

A more detailed proposal is expected by the Federal Government later this week.

It is understood that while the Prime Minister is not sold on the idea, he is willing to hear it out.

He said on Monday any quarantine camps should be supplementary to hotel quarantine, and not a replacement.

“I had a good meeting with Premier Palaszczuk on Friday, in terms of what I would describe as a bit of a supplementary capacity that potentially could be done,” he said.

“But that only relates to an overflow capacity around charter flights. It’s not an alternative.”

Ms Palaszczuk on Friday said the Howard Springs facility had worked in the Northern Territory and she had put some options to Mr Morrison.

“This is about putting additional options and ideas on the table,” she said.

Meanwhile Wellcamp Airport boss John Wagner said his proposal is for a 1000-person facility just outside the Toowoomba-based airport, with demountable and purpose built rooms, surrounded by a perimeter fence and CCTV.

Wellcamp Airport owner John Wagner has proposed a 1000-bed facility for quarantine connected to the facility. Picture: Bev Lacey

He said the cost of this proposal was commercial-in-confidence, but that it would likely by up to the Federal Government to pay for if it went ahead.

Mr Wagner said he expected the first 500 rooms could be built within six weeks and the remainder done within 2.5 months.

“We work 24 hours a day, seven days a week so we can achieve a lot,” he said.

Under the proposal, passengers would exit the plane, step on a bus and be taken to the quarantine facility where they would be processed by customs and immigration before being taken to their room.

Mr Wagner said staff would live and work on site, to minimise the chance of the virus escaping via them.

He said he did not expect there would be difficulty attracting workers for the live-in role.