George Street Confidential: Tugboat quarantine inconsistent

The mandatory quarantining of a tugboat crew would be perfectly understandable if not for the events of last year, writes Steven Wardill.

It was an epic spin effort from Queensland Health this week after forcing the crew of tugboat PT Monto into hotel quarantine in Cairns for two weeks.

The six crew members had been to COVID-free Tonga on a month-long journey to retrieve a stricken boat, and insist they had no interaction with any locals.

But Queensland Health said the quarantine decision was all about caution and consistency, because 1003 of Queensland’s 1310 COVID cases had been acquired overseas.

Yet that’s a bit perplexing, given the PT Monto did a similar voyage to Tonga in May last year, but the crew weren’t required to perform mandatory quarantine when they returned.

The crew of PT Monto arrive in Cairns. Picture: Stewart McLean

LES GETS PHYSICAL

And if only the State Labor Government could find a way to put Les “Bring Back the Biff” Walker into quarantine for a month or two.

“I’ve been a victim of crime. It does hurt,” the 56-year-old Mundingburra brawler opined during a press conference in Townsville this week about the city’s ongoing concerns with youth crime.

We can only hope Walker wasn’t referring to his recent big birthday bash, which resulted in him getting a lift to hospital in an ambulance and fined by police for being a public nuisance after an altercation with a couple of young locals.

Member for Mundingburra Les Walker

A REST WARRANTED

Someone who wasn’t pulling their punches this week was Member for Capalaba Donny Brown Jr.

Brown, who was on the sidelines of a heated exchange at a polling station at the recent state election campaign, joined those criticising a controversial piece of artwork on display at the Gallery of Modern Art.

The artwork is a police helmet adorned with a doughnut and featuring a police car in flames with the acronym FTP (f--- the police).

Don earned the ire of some senior colleagues for a Facebook post dragging Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch into the issue by saying she should force the gallery to remove it.

Detail of the offending artwork at GOMA

PREMIER PERFORMANCE

For a far more benevolent gallery experience, the Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts will next week feature legendary ABC interviewer Kerry O’Brien quizzing Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

For $26, people can watch O’Brien grill Palaszczuk live on topics like what she wants her legacy to be, her motivation, leadership style and how she plans to reshape a post-COVID-19 Queensland.

It’s also being live-streamed for free, for those who’d prefer to watch on from the comfort of home.

FLAVOURS OF QUEENSLAND

Finally, if you’re casting around for a novel venue for Valentine’s Day, Parliament House is throwing on a $100-a-head dinner in the historic Stranger’s Dining Room.

The delectable three-course menu is packed with Queensland produce, of course, including Moreton Bay bugs, Gold Coast tuna, snapper from 1770 and beef from the north.

Get in quick. Space is limited.

Stranger’s Dining Room at Brisbane’s Parliament House