Annastacia Palaszczuk’s July border opening too late for crippled tourism industry

Despite the Prime Minister’s promise to get Australia back up and running, Annastacia Palaszczuk continues to drag her feet – at the expense of Queensland’s wounded tourism industry, writes Sophie Elsworth.

The stupidity of Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to continue to keep the state’s borders under lock and key defies belief.

Let the rest of Australia in for heaven’s sake, and do it now.

Waiting until the new possible July 10 date to reopen – pending review at the end of this month – will only cripple the state’s economy further.

Palaszczuk’s power has gone to her head and consequently she is killing the state’s tourism dollar quicker than the blink of an eye.

Already, she is running a state that has estimated debt to reach $92 billion and she’s making matters worse by the day.

Comrade Palaszczuk is behaving like a megalomaniac and is stopping at nothing to destroy the livelihoods of hardworking Queenslanders’ who rely on the tourism dollar to survive.

And just to rub salt into the wound, this Labor leader’s government was already in high-level talks with New Zealand’s government led by far-left Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to open up a travel bubble in July between the two locations.

On Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the country will be getting back to normal sooner than expected. Picture: AAP/Lukas Coch

Yep you read right – the Premier was in talks to potentially let Kiwis into one of the best parts of our magnificent country ahead of Aussies. What an insult.

But finally on Friday, Palaszczuk buckled after a National Cabinet meeting which was followed with Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealing the tentative reopening date of July 10 before the Premier could.

Good on him.

The moronic decision to keep the Sunshine State’s gates locked ahead of the critical peak winter season including the upcoming school holiday period is beyond ridiculous.

During the winter months many Australians from cooler climates like Victoria visit Queensland to soak up the warmer weather and bring in important revenue for those relying on the tourist dollar.

Popular holiday destinations thrive at this time of year including the magnificent Gold and Sunshine Coasts, Whitsundays and far north Queensland regions including popular towns like Port Douglas.

As it stands, Queensland currently has so few active cases of COVID-19 you could count them on one hand – among its population of five million people.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Matt Taylor

Surely the Premier doesn’t believe her own garbage she is spewing out, including that the border closure has not caused financial hardship for Queensland businesses?

Figures from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) tipped a $27 billion blow would be caused by the response of the coronavirus outbreak.

But Palaszczuk, who initially said the Queensland borders would be shut until September, now looks likely to buckle under pressure and give her ego-tripping behaviour a rest.

The problem, though, is that July 10 is too late for interstate travellers hoping to visit. Without a date set in stone, no one will be willing to book flights, reserve accommodation or get their itineraries arranged. And by them the critical school holiday period could have long passed.

Let’s hope Queenslanders remember the damage Premier Palaszczuk has done when the cast their votes at the state’s election in October.

@sophieelsworth

Originally published as Annastacia Palaszczuk’s July border opening too late for crippled tourism industry