Wellcamp quarantine hub proposal divides community as governments blame each other
It’s the single-most polarising proposal to capture the city’s imagination since the “Poowoomba” debate of the mid-2000s. Here’s how it unfolded since it was put forward on January 22.
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It is the biggest Toowoomba-centric issue to split the community since the “Poowoomba” debate over the city’s proposed recycled water scheme in the mid-2000s.
Announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk after she emerged from a national cabinet meeting on the afternoon of January 22, there was at first scant detail about the potential Toowoomba quarantine hub for returning travellers.
In the intervening six weeks, Wagner Corporation chairman John Wagner and the State Government have filled in a lot of gaps around how the proposed hub at Wellcamp Airport would work.
But in the mind of the public, there are still plenty of questions to be addressed.
Businessman and philanthropist Clive Berghofer, who previously spearheaded the “Poowoomba” campaign, has taken the lead in the fight against the establishment of a quarantine hub and started a parliamentary petition opposing it, which has so far gathered 4200 signatures.
And the State and Federal Governments appear to be at a stalemate over whether the hub should proceed.
WHAT WE KNOW
The hub would consist of a 1000 room demountable accommodation facility, with 300 rooms for staff, built to the north of the Wellcamp Airport runway.
It is modelled on the Howard Springs Facility in the Northern Territory.
International flights would land at Wellcamp Airport, passengers would disembark directly onto dedicated buses, and three minutes later they’d arrive at the accommodation facility.
There would be no interaction with the public and no interaction with Wagners staff.
Travellers would be cleared for customs and immigration at the facility, and go straight to their rooms, where they wouldn’t leave until completing their quarantine period.
All staff would work and stay on site during their shifts – two weeks on and two weeks off – to minimise the risk of transmission into the community.
The first 500 rooms could be constructed in about six weeks.
The Wagners’ role would be in constructing the facility, maintaining it, and looking after food and beverages.
Queensland Health would oversee the cleaning, which Mr Wagner said would be done by a local COVID-approved organisation.
The Premier has said anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 would be taken by ambulance to Brisbane.
Wagners have confirmed the 1300 room facility would be dismantled when it was no longer needed, something the local accommodation sector has held concerns over.
The facility would be built without government funding, and Mr Wagner said they would be charging the State Government the same rate travellers currently pay for hotel quarantine.
There are two significant benefits to the Wagners’ proposal.
The first is that each room will have its own air conditioning unit, and there are no corridors for airborne virus particles to spread through – thought to be responsible for recent COVID-19 outbreaks in hotel quarantine.
The second is the provision of a stable, well-remunerated workforce, who do not need to work two or three jobs, thereby eliminating the risk of spreading the virus across multiple workplaces.
THE REACTION
Within hours of the Premier raising the prospect of a quarantine hub at Toowoomba, Groom MP Garth Hamilton was calling for more detail.
Since that day, he’s also been calling for the State Government to consult the community on the issue – but that is yet to eventuate.
“We’ve seen governments do this poorly. The safety of our community is at the forefront of my concerns on this issue,” he said on the day.
In the days and weeks after the announcement, Mr Hamilton’s office, along with the offices of local State MPs Trevor Watts, David Janetzki, and Pat Weir, have been inundated with people voicing their fears about the proposal.
Toowoomba Regional Council and councillors have also received a large amount of feedback about the proposal, despite it being out of their hands.
In early February, Mayor Paul Antonio convened a meeting of leaders from the state health services, major private hospitals, and the Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise to discuss impacts of the facility if it were to be approved.
While Cr Antonio said he felt the Wagners’ proposal had merit, it was also important the health services’ collective concerns were forwarded to State and Federal Governments.
Now, six weeks into the debate over the quarantine hub, the community’s anxieties have coalesced around Mr Berghofer.
A parliamentary petition started by the 86-year-old on February 18 which calls on the State Government to abandon the idea has so far garnered 4200-odd signatures.
Mr Berghofer said people had come to him with their concerns and asked what he could do about it.
“I told them that I would put my head on the chopping block by being the person to petition the parliament of Queensland, so the members of our community can have a say.”
THE STALEMATE
So when can we expect a decision on the proposal?
Who knows.
Scott Morrison after national cabinet last Friday said the federal government needed to see a “detailed, costed proposal that the Commonwealth could consider”.
By this he means the cost of operating the facility for authorities, not the Wagners, who have not sought external funding for their side of the project.
The Premier hit back, issuing an ultimatum to the PM: “We have had lengthy discussions at departmental level. We need to know – are the Commonwealth interested or not.”
The federal government has consistently said Queensland’s proposal lacks detail, a claim disputed by the State Government.
A spokesman for the Premier on Thursday said officers from both levels of government have been in constant contact over the project.
“Any questions are answered as they arise,” he said.
“The Premier long ago suggested regional hubs as a better and safer way to deal with international arrivals. The reputation of the Wagner family only enhances the good sense presented by Wellcamp.
“There is no politics in the Premier’s position.
“The Premier regards quarantine as a shared responsibility.”
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