Trust us to do right thing and open up state travel

If community transmission in Queensland is as non-existent as the Premier says, and a key reason why she has maintained the border closure, then the 250km travel rule now seems arbitrary.

IT IS simple to view Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to keep Queensland’s border closed to non-essential travel solely through the prism of its cost to the state’s tourism industry.

Figures have been bandied about over how the state’s stricken economy would forgo almost $800 million a month in lost interstate tourism dollars while the border is closed and the Gold Coast was on the verge of losing one in 10 jobs.

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If these figures were her only consideration, Ms Palaszczuk would probably race down to the Tweed today, personally drag the bollards away and tell the police officers to take the rest of the day off.

However, while the financial implications of hanging the “closed for business” sign up at the Queensland-NSW border would be weighing on the Premier’s mind, she is having to counterbalance this against all the other costs and potential implications of opening up the state.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

Those who have raised merry hell about the Queensland border debate have eagerly seized on comments from federal chief medical officers about how they never recommended the border closures and there were no reasons for them to be maintained.

But medical advice in these circumstances is rarely black and white, and it is up to leaders such as Ms Palaszczuk to weigh up the consequences and priorities based on the information she is receiving.

It would be easy for the Premier to adopt a “come what may” attitude and just throw open the borders.

But with individual schools being closed in NSW and Victoria because of community transmitted COVID-19 and the considerable number of active cases in those states, there is merit to the stance Ms Palaszczuk has taken.

What would be the cost, not just in terms of livelihoods but people’s lives, if community transmission became rampant in Queensland?

Where the Premier erred badly was putting out a restrictions-easing roadmap one day which pinpointed July 10 as the proposed date for interstate travel to resume, and then contradicting herself 10 days later by suggesting it might not happen until September.

This undermined confidence in not just the roadmap but the recovery in general, and every ounce of confidence that Queensland businesses and consumers can cling to in this environment is critical.

However, if Ms Palaszczuk is truly committed to a “Queensland first and foremost” mantra she has a duty to do whatever she can to help the state’s suffering industries.

While the death of miner Nathan Turner in Blackwater this week is concerning and demands thorough investigation, Ms Palaszczuk must weigh up what this means for her plan to resuscitate the economy and restore people’s basic rights.

As Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday, complete eradication of COVID-19 was never the goal when the National Cabinet agreed to unprecedented moves to shut down great swathes of the economy, so a case or a cluster should not prevent the revival of sectors whenever it is safe.

After enormous success “flattening the curve”, Ms Palaszczuk should be looking at elements of her roadmap which she can bring forward or amend.

Chief among these should be allowing Queenslanders to travel and holiday wherever they want throughout the state.

The Government’s roadmap proposed allowing Queenslanders to travel up to 250km from their home for any reason from June 12.

If community transmission in Queensland is as non-existent as Ms Palaszczuk has said, and a key reason why she has maintained the border closure, then the 250km rule now seems arbitrary.

While missing out on international and interstate travel will mean the pain still continues for the tourism sector, this should not be compounded further by preventing Queenslanders from holidaying in their own state.

As figures published in The Courier-Mail this week demonstrated, intrastate travel delivers the most domestic tourism dollars for every area in Queensland except the Gold Coast.

Ms Palaszczuk could reward Queenslanders for their success tackling the coronavirus pandemic by relieving them of travel restraints while giving the tourism sector a shot in the arm at the same time.

The regional Queensland tourism sector will see little benefit during the winter travel season if the 250km rule is not removed.

Similarly, the 10-person cap in pubs, clubs and restaurants should be revised up beyond the 20-person limit proposed from June 12.

Businesses should be allowed tailored limits on patrons based on their size and COVID-safe plan.

Ms Palaszczuk’s approach with the border may prove to be overly cautious or it may be a masterstroke.

But Queensland’s results show it’s high time for the Government to give people back some of their rights and trust them to make the appropriate choices.