Peter Gleeson: If only Palaszczuk cared for ordinary people, like she does celebrities
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s penchant for cosying up to celebs – and the special exemptions for the rich and famous, but draconian protocols for the general population – is not just a bad look, it’s backfiring spectacularly, writes Peter Gleeson.
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If Annastacia Palaszczuk wants to win the October 31 election, she must act quickly to change
heartless border restrictions and quarantine protocols.
The public have had a gutful of this terrible, anaemic policy that is unfairly dividing families and adding to the mental health woes of people already in distress.
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How can Labor give concessions to A-list Hollywood actors and footy players but stops people attending the funeral of their father, prevents kids returning home to their parents from boarding school and even precludes a mother from hugging her newborn for four days?
It’s insane and it has exposed a Labor Government that is addicted to taking flawed advice from an incompetent bureaucracy.
The premier’s penchant for cosying up to celebrities – and a perception that there are rules for the rich and famous but other more draconian protocols for the general population – is also a bad look and is backfiring spectacularly.
Queenslanders are appreciative of the way the Palaszczuk Government’s hardline border stance has kept us relatively safe from this killer virus.
In normal circumstances this would have been an election boon. But Labor’s obsession with keeping us safe has exposed a deeper policy malaise.
Firstly, the fiscal impact of the border closures is continuing to have a massive impact on tourism and small business. People are hurting financially and the worst is yet to come.
But the real problem now for Ms Palaszczuk is the perception that her government has become out of touch and heartless.
Front page headlines referring to her government as “vile’’ and “evil’’ – even from Lef-leaning papers like the Australian Financial Review – are accompanied by talkback radio meltdown and mainstream TV hosts blasting the premier.
The last premier to cop this sort of public barrage was NSW’s Mike Baird after he banned greyhound racing and we know how that finished.
This government needs a circuit breaker and the best outcome is a “hotspots’’ policy, meaning that anybody can visit Queensland as long as they are COVID-free and have been living in a city or town that hasn’t had a COVID-19 case in the past 28 days.
In the case of Sarah Caisip, she would have been free to attend her Dad’s funeral because Canberra – where she lives – hasn’t had a case in over two months.
In the case of Elena Turner, 72, from Lismore, who wants to bury her son in Logan, she would be allowed to attend the funeral because the Northern Rivers has been COVID- free for months.
It’s not rocket science. The premier says these are not her decisions. That’s a cop out.
Change the policy. Take control. That’s what leaders do. The current policy is clunky and being enforced way too enthusiastically by heartless bureaucrats. The madness can’t continue.