Qld Premier signs off on wrong version of Pinkenba Covid-19 camp deal, federal government claims

The state and federal governments are still bickering over the proposed Covid quarantine camp in Brisbane – this time over the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the two.

The state and federal governments are still bickering over the proposed Covid quarantine camp in Brisbane - this time over the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the two.

After months of being at loggerheads with the federal government over the dedicated facility, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her deputy Steven Miles on Monday heralded signing off on the agreement to build a 1000-bed camp at Pinkenba near the airport.

“It’s now over to the federal government,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

But the federal government was initially adamant no finalised memorandum of understanding had been signed.

According to them, the Premier had inadvertently signed off on a draft - and therefore void - version of the document.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he then fired off a letter to Ms Palaszczuk with the official, finalised version he claims she was meant to sign.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

“I appreciate your officials’ good faith negotiations with Commonwealth officials,” he wrote.

“I ask that you sign the attached MoU and return it to me at your earliest convenience.”

The state government, initially confused, later confirmed the document the Premier had initially signed was indeed outdated.

Turns out state and federal bureaucrats had still been going back and forth on minor changes late last week, and in her haste to get the project moving the Premier had signed off before the paperwork was finalised.

The bilateral mystery was solved by Monday afternoon, with the state government signing the official - and this time final - document shortly after.

“We signed their MoU on Friday and have now signed their updated MoU,” Mr Miles said.

“Now that both governments have signed an MoU, the Australian government can get on with building it.”

Work on designing and constructing the facility can begin, but Mr Miles signalled the camp would not now be ready until mid-2022.

This is three months later than what the federal government had estimated on July 30, and far off Mr Morrison’s wish for it to be built by Christmas.

Constructions costs will be borne by the federal government and the day-to-day running of the facility will be handled by the Queensland government.

How much the project will cost remains unknown, with the decision to build on a known flood plain and the need to mitigate against noise likely to raise the price tag.