Gladstone mayor says community opposes opposes using region as COVID quarantine site

The Palaszczuk Government’s proposal to use a regional city as a COVID quarantine site has been dealt a blow.

THE Palaszczuk Government’s proposal to potentially use Gladstone as a COVID quarantine site has been dealt a major blow after the local mayor warned that his community doesn’t support the move.

In a letter to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Mayor Matt Burnett said locals were worried about a potential increased risk of local community transmission of the virus.

He told them that many in the region were concerned about a possible shutdown of their industrial economy, as well as a lack of “appropriate medical services”.

Gladstone Regional Council Mayor Matt Burnett. Picture: Rodney Stevens

“I have personally kept an open mind on the proposal as myself and my fellow councillors await your response to our concerns,” Cr Burnett wrote.

“However, during the past two weeks our community has expressed its views on the matter and has made its opposition clear.

“I understand all options need to be considered to ensure the safe return of Australians stranded overseas and I trust both the State and Federal governments will take my community’s concerns into consideration before making a final decision.”

A state government spokesman said no decision had been made on the quarantine sites.

“The Premier and the Government will continue to remain in contact with the Mayor and engage him and the community on any developments as they occur,” he said.

The Premier and the Mayor during the 2020 state election campaign. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The region had previously been flagged by the Premier as a potential quarantine site, along with Toowoomba, as part of her government’s pitch to send international arrivals to regional sites as an alternative to Brisbane.

Meanwhile, Queensland authorities don’t yet know when they will reopen the Sunshine State’s borders to Perth after the WA capital was declared a hotspot.

There were no new cases of COVID-19 recorded in WA on Monday, after officials confirmed over the weekend that a person working in hotel quarantine in Perth had contracted the virus.

About 47 passengers arrived into Brisbane from Perth early Monday morning, but they were sent to hotel quarantine where they could stay for up to 14 days.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath yesterday. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Jono Searle

Queensland’s Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said no decision had yet been made over when Queensland’s border would reopen to the new hot spots in Perth.

“With all of these situations when there is a cluster, what we do is we gather new information every single day,” she said.

“Western Australia is still in the process of identifying this particular variant for this gentleman who worked in hotel quarantine.”