Editorial: Latest proof Premier is making it up as she goes

When it comes to the borders, Queenslanders have been forced to endure Annastacia Palaszczuk’s randomness, uncertainty and a whiff of political grandstanding. We deserve better, writes the editor. TAKE THE POLL

Tourism operators would have been tempted to dance in the street yesterday morning as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk broke the news that she had belatedly decided to open Queensland to Sydneysiders from December 1.

More good news is expected to follow today, with Ms Palaszczuk likely to also allow Victorians to travel to the Sunshine State from the start of next month.

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This is the news Queensland’s embattled tourism sector has been praying for as it grapples with the prospect of having to rely on locals filling hotel rooms and restaurants and buying tickets to attractions.

While every booking would be welcome, operators know only too well that Queenslanders holidaying at home are often low-yield visitors compared to tourists from further afield.

Unfettered access to Queensland (except to South Australians at this stage), will not just be a boon for tourism in the peak holiday season but will mean families separated by state borders will be able to enjoy the festive season together.

However, before breaking into a bit of a boogie ourselves over all this good news, it is worth digging down and unpacking where we really are at with the entire border debate.

For a start, the 28-day period of no community-based transmission that Queensland has insisted on before opening borders was reached on Saturday for Sydney residents, who had been effectively banned from our state.

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So why did it take until yesterday for Ms Palaszczuk to meet with and accept the advice of Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young?

And if the Greater Sydney area has already met the 28-day standard, why is Ms Palaszczuk delaying the opening date an additional week?

We can hear her voice already ringing in our ears about an abundance of caution, keeping Queenslanders safe and all that jazz.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announces the border opening yesterday. Picture: Peter Wallis

But it once again shows that she is making the rules up as she goes along.

Did the health advice recommend this delay, or was it Ms Palaszczuk?

We don’t know, because she refuses to release the advice and prefers glib rhetorical statements over providing Queenslanders with proper answers.

She demonstrated this with aplomb yesterday when she refused to explain what the trigger might be to close the border again.

“I think we’d have to see a major outbreak,” Ms Palaszczuk offered when asked about this, but then wouldn’t or couldn’t explain what would constitute a “major outbreak”.

Would one untraceable case of COVID-19 be enough to bring back the border blockade; half a dozen or more?

Who knows? Not even those who’d make the decision, it seems.

Ms Palaszczuk assumed she’d scored another fillip after closing Queensland to SA the day before that state announced a harsh lockdown of residents over concerns about an outbreak emerging among hotel quarantine workers.

Yet while SA Premier Steven Marshall was forced to back down after it emerged a hotel quarantine worker was moonlighting at a pizza store and told fibs to contact tracers, Queensland has kept its border closed to that state regardless.

This all goes to show the uncertainty and randomness that afflicts how the Palaszczuk government is handling the border, and there’s a whiff of political grandstanding in it too.

Queenslanders have earned the right to some certainty and deserve a premier who doesn’t foxtrot around the truth.

The joy of Christmas

Having Queensland Ballet staging its annual Christmas treat, The Nutcracker, is emblematic of life getting back to some kind of normal in the arts.

Our state company has been staging this classic ballet featuring the unforgettable music of Tchaikovsky for eight years, but when the pandemic hit they pulled the pin. Families that have made attending it an annual tradition were devastated. But now there is rejoicing.

This ballet production is a symbol of hope for the arts community.

It really is starting to look a bit like Christmas for the performing arts, and that signals better days ahead for an industry decimated by the pandemic.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details are available here