MP warns ‘one-size-fits-all approach’ won’t work
Frecklington urges the Palaszczuk Government to prioritise regional economic recovery as restrictions begin to ease.
South Burnett
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MEMBER for Nanango and leader of the opposition party, Deb Frecklington is urging the Palaszczuk Government to take a commonsense approach with regards to easing restrictions and saving jobs in regional economies.
In a letter addressed to Annastacia Palaszczuk that was exclusively obtained by the South Burnett Times, Ms Frecklington commends the state’s efforts to stem the spread of the virus.
“Queenslanders have done an outstanding job in flattening the curve and stopping the spread of coronavirus in our state and I welcome Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s leadership in delivering a road map to recovery,” she said.
“It’s important now that a health crisis doesn’t become a deep and widespread economic crisis. Ahead of restrictions easing this weekend across Queensland, I would urge the Palaszczuk Government to prioritise regional economic recovery.”
Ms Frecklington argues in the letter there is no need for communities such as the Wide Bay to still be facing lockdown restrictions.
“Geographically, most of our state has no active cases and there is an opportunity for regional economies to be fast-tracked out of lockdown. However, it’s up to the Palaszczuk Government to decide where and how quickly restrictions are eased,” she said.
“If you look at the Queensland Health regional breakdown yesterday, there were only 18 active cases across the state, with 12 in Brisbane, 3 on the Gold Coast, 2 in Cairns and 1 on the Sunshine Coast. That means there were no active cases between the Sunshine Coast and Cairns, a distance of over 1500 kilometres.
“There is no reason why businesses in places like Townsville, Mackay, Central Queensland, Wide Bay and the Darling Downs can’t see a lifting of restrictions earlier, while maintaining appropriate social distancing and other mitigation measures. These regions are not covered in the Outback concessions and they are crying out for economic leadership.”
Ms Frecklington mentioned the hundreds of thousands of jobs currently on the line due to the restrictions.
“Former Under Treasurer Frankie Carroll said last week that almost 300,000 Queenslanders would be out of work because of coronavirus and many others have taken pay cuts or forced to take annual leave,” she said.
“This health crisis must not be allowed to become an economic crisis, with jobs needlessly lost in regional communities. There must be a commonsense approach to easing restrictions and saving jobs in regional economies.
“A one-size-fits-all approach to lifting restrictions won’t work in a state as large and diverse as Queensland and it doesn’t make sense either.”
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