Wellcamp quarantine hub: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says ‘build it and they will come’

The first stages of construction have already begun for a 1000-bed quarantine facility outside Toowoomba in a surprise announcement by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Earthworks have already started at the site where the controversial 1000-bed quarantine hub will stand at Wellcamp Airport outside Toowoomba after a shock announcement from the Queensland Government.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced yesterday the government had struck a deal with John Wagner and the Wagner family.

Construction work on the facility has already begun and will be completed by Wagner Corporation, with the state government to operate the facility once it is up and running.

Half of the facility – 500 beds – is expected to be available by the end of the year.

Taking a “build it and they will come” attitude Ms Palaszczuk said a deal had yet to be reached with the federal government on international arrivals at the airport.

“We can bus people from Brisbane up here if we have to,” she said.

“In the end it’s a no-brainer: here’s the airport, send the flights here.

“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to utilise the airport. We will continue those discussions and we will use whatever options are open to us.

“We will put this centre to good use.”

With the facility expected to be at full capacity in the first quarter of next year, Ms Palaszczuk said the hub was part of an effort to phase out hotel quarantine.

“Hotel quarantine has been an initial defence against the virus coming in, it was one of the earliest decisions national cabinet made it was one of the best decisions this country made, but hotels weren’t designed to handle a global pandemic,” she said.

Wagner Corporation chairman John Wagner said the quarantine hub was mooted a long time ago and could have already been built and operational by now.

“As the landlord of this facility for the state government we are working through the final design criteria to make sure that we have the best fit-for-purpose regional accommodation facility for return travellers that there is in the country or the world,” he said.

“This is going to be a great economic boost for Toowoomba, it will create a lot of local employment, our local producers just by the fact that we will have to produce 3000 meals a day will really benefit from this and it will help get Queensland out of Covid and on the road to economic recovery which we desperately need.”

Ms Palaszczuk would not reveal how much the facility would cost to build, except to say “it’s a lot cheaper than Pinkenba”, referring to the quarantine hub the federal government approved for Brisbane earlier this year.

She first floated the idea of a Covid quarantine hub outside Toowoomba in January, however has been in a back-and-forth debate with Prime Minister Scott Morrison as to whether the Garden City was a suitable location.

When asked if the Prime Minister knew about the facility, the Premier said “I’m quite sure he does now”.

“These are the types of facilities the Commonwealth should have built by now right across the country,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“What we’ve seen is there’s people wanting to return home and the more facilities that we have the safer it is for them to return home.”

Ms Palaszczuk said the state government had a 12-month lease on the facility with options to extend the agreement for up to three years, but didn’t reveal any potential future uses for the facility.

The Premier dismissed concerns the facility would put the Toowoomba community at risk of a Covid outbreak, or put further strain on the region’s hospital system, with seriously ill people with Covid to be transported to specialist facilities in Brisbane.

“This is about keeping the community safe,” she said.

“This is going to be a great boost for our defence against the Delta virus in this country.”

Up to 450 jobs will be created during construction of the Wellcamp quarantine hub, and Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the facility would be the first completed in the country behind Howard Springs.

“The talk about this facility has gone on for too long.”

Originally published as Wellcamp quarantine hub: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says ‘build it and they will come’