QLD Premier warns PM she won’t be ‘intimidated’ over border rules
Liberal MP Craig Kelly has taken aim at Queensland Premier Palasczuk and her Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young over their refusal to let a 26-year-old ACT woman attend her father’s funeral this afternoon, sharing a post on Facebook describing the pair as “wicked evil bastards”.
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Liberal MP Craig Kelly has taken aim at Queensland Premier Palasczuk and her Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young over their refusal to let a 26-year-old ACT woman attend her father’s funeral this afternoon, sharing a post on Facebook describing the pair as “wicked evil bastards”.
“How else do you describe a decision to ban a daughter from attending her dad’s funeral and to comfort her 11-year-old sister and her mother while they mourn the passing of their father and husband,” he said.
“And there are no legitimate health or medical reasons, the daughter has been living in virus-free Canberra.”
Mr Kelly questioned how Queensland could ban a woman from attending her dad’s funeral when previously 80 people had been allowed to go to a funeral as it was for a “significant elder”.
“So under the rules of these wicked, evil bastards there is one rule for ‘significant elders’ and another rule for those they consider ‘insignificant’,” he said.
The Queensland Premier sparked an extraordinary public spat with the Prime Minister this morning over 26-year-old Sarah Caisip’s request to attend her father’s funeral in Queensland this afternoon.
Ms Palaszczuk accused Scott Morrison of bullying over the matter, telling state parliament that he called her about the matter this morning.
“I will not be bullied, nor will I be intimidated by the Prime Minister of this country,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said she “made (it) very clear) to Mr Morrison “that it is not my decision”.
A Queensland government source claimed Mr Morrison “berated” Ms Palaszczuk in a private conversation over the issue.
The source said Mr Morrison told the Queensland Premier: “You will do this”.
Those comments came ahead of an emotional call from the Prime Minister to radio host Ray Hadley, calling for an exemption to allow Ms Caisip to attend her father’s funeral.
She was granted an exemption to travel into Queensland — but only two days after her father died.
“The Prime Minister at the time said to me that he had not gone public, but Mr Speaker, I knew that he would go public,” Ms Palaszczuk told parliament.
Mr Morrison later told Ray Hadley of the call.
“I’ve appealed to her to overrule the decision that would allow Sarah to go to the funeral today,” he said. “This is a heartbreaking case,” he said, audibly emotional.
Mr Morrison appeared to be fighting back tears when talking of his own father’s recent funeral.
“This is (Sarah’s) last opportunity to say farewell to her dad. Now, all of us who have been through that process know how important a day like today is, it is still fresh in my mind,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the Queensland Premier had not changed her mind on the exemption when he contacted her this morning.
“I hope she will reconsider before two o’clock today,” he said.
Ms Palaszczuk said it was not her decision to make.
“I do not make these individual decisions. They are made by the Chief health officer,” she told parliament.
At noon, the Health Minister’s office confirmed that the woman would be allowed to have a private viewing at the funeral home after the service, but she will not be allowed to attend the service itself.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said he has not seen the Queensland Chief Health Officer’s “ruling or reasons” for allowing Sarah to view her father’s body alone but not attend his funeral.
“I think, the most sensible and sensitive and compassionate thing to do with regard to Sarah’s case is if in a COVID-safe way, obviously, masked and with any other appropriate distancing, Sarah were able to attend the full funeral,” he said.
“I think that would be the most humane, compassionate thing to do.”
Mr Hunt said the government wanted to see a more “transparent” exemptions system.
“So there is a capacity to appeal for exemptions or compassionate or other grounds, that bears some initial assessment which is done, and there is a transparent process to make that appeal,” he said.
Ms Caisip yesterday outlined her struggle to visit her dad, Bernard Prendergast, to the Courier Mail and this morning, spoke to 4BC radio.
The woman, who lives in COVID-free ACT, told host Neil Breen she sought an exemption to surprise her dad for Father’s Day 20 days before she needed to travel.
“By the time they got back to me for the approval, dad had already passed away,” she said.
She made it into Queensland on Friday, two days after her father died. She is now in hotel quarantine. She has been trying to jump through bureaucratic hoops to go to her father’s funeral this afternoon, to no avail.
“I asked for an exemption just for a couple of hours to go to the funeral, I wasn’t asking them to leave like quarantine after that altogether,” she said.
NSW LATEST
NSW has recorded seven new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Of the seven new cases, two are returned travellers in hotel quarantine and five are linked to a known case or cluster.
Among the cases is a student from St Pauls Catholic College Greystanes who was already in self-isolation and two new cases linked to the Concord hospital cluster.
One was a staff member also already in self-isolation after being identified as a close contact.
There are now 14 people associated with Concord and Liverpool Emergency Departments who have tested positive for COVID-19, including nine healthcare workers. Investigations into the source of these infections are ongoing.
Two of the new cases are from South Eastern Sydney, who both reported visiting the Eastern Suburbs Legion Club at Waverley.
NSW Health is investigating whether someone at the Eastern Suburbs Legion Club on the evening of Friday, August 28, may be the source for cases associated with the club.
No known cases were infectious while at the club that evening; however, anyone who attended the club between 5pm and 6.30pm on August 28 must immediately get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
VICTORIA’S LATEST
There have been 51 new cases of coronavirus diagnosed in Victoria and seven deaths overnight.
Thursday’s numbers are a significant decrease from Wednesday, where there were 76 new cases and 11 deaths.
It also tracks well for Melbourne, as new data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows Melbourne’s 14-day average is on the decline.
The 14-day average for metropolitan Melbourne fell to 74.5 on Wednesday, down from 84.8 on Monday.
If the average of new cases is between 30 and 50 by September 28, the city will be able to move to the next step out of lockdown.
TOM HANKS CAUGHT UP IN BORDER WAR
Hollywood star Tom Hanks has unwittingly found himself at the centre of a COVID border war between NSW and Queensland involving a dying father who is desperate to see his children who live interstate.
Brisbane dad Mark Keanes, 39, who has terminal cancer, has been told only one of his four children will be allowed to cross from NSW into Queensland to visit him, in a dilemma the state’s Opposition leader says has sunk the border fiasco to an “appalling” new low.
But despite Queensland denying Mr Keanes’ kids the right to see him, superstar Hanks, fully recovered from his own bout of coronavirus, is the latest celebrity to be ushered into Queensland and allowed to complete quarantine at a Gold Coast resort of his choosing after flying into the state on Tuesday.
Mr Keanes has been diagnosed with small cell cancer.
His father Bruce Langborne last night said he has been given until Christmas to live.
Mr Langborne said the family was told one child would be able to visit their dying father, with one adult. The visit would only last one hour.
“(Queensland Health) said we were being selfish by wanting to see him, that we were putting at risk the other cancer patients,” Mr Langborne said.
The state’s Opposition leader Deb Frecklington raised Mr Keanes’ case in parliament on Wednesday, calling on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to show compassion to the family.
“They have said they may have had more luck if they were in the AFL or crew on a superyacht,” she said.
But the Premier hit back, saying: “If Queenslanders had listened to the LNP when they asked for the borders to be opened 64 times, we may have been in the situation of Victoria.”
A spokesman for Ms Palaszczuk on Wednesday night said he did not know about the case even though it was mentioned in parliament.
Queensland Health said it was unable to investigate the matter without the names of people wishing to enter the state.
Hanks is not the only star to have received the red carpet COVID treatment.
TV talent show judge Dannii Minogue also avoided hotel quarantine and was allowed to isolate in a private home in July.
And construction magnate Mark Simonds and his fellow superyacht border breaches were told they could stay in Queensland after completing quarantine.
Meanwhile, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard slammed the Queensland Premier over border closures keeping families apart, accusing Ms Palaszczuk of engaging in “base, loopy politics” over the matter.
Mr Hazzard said he was “appalled” at the hard border which has created problems for those seeking medical treatment, or attempting to travel into Queensland on compassionate grounds.
“I can only express my anger, my supreme anger, at the Queensland Premier’s decision,” Mr Hazzard said.
AUSTRALIA TO STICK BY OXFORD LAB TRIAL
Australia is not “anywhere near” walking away from a coronavirus vaccine — widely tipped to be the nation’s ticket out of restrictions — despite researchers suspending clinical trials after a volunteer became ill.
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and drug company AstraZeneca hit pause on its phase three trial yesterday after one of its participants suffered a “potentially unexplained illness”.
It comes as the federal government recently inked a deal to secure the vaccine and produce 33.8 million doses — with 3.8 million to be available as early as January — if the trials prove it is safe and effective.
The ill participant reportedly suffered from transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome that affects the spinal cord but there has been no evidence of a direct link to the vaccine.
A spokesman for AstraZeneca said the trial would remain paused while the safety data was reviewed by an independent committee.
“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials,” he said. “We are working to expedite the review of the single event to minimise any potential impact on the trial timeline.”
Australia’s deputy chief medial officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said the government was waiting for the results of an investigation but moved to reassure the public that it did not mean the vaccine was compromised.
“(Vaccine trial) pauses are often short, even a matter of days sometimes,” he said.
Infectious diseases expert Professor Nigel McMillan said Australians should not lose faith in the vaccine as there could be several “innocent explanations” for the adverse reaction. “This happens every day with trials. This is normal and how clinical trials run.”
TESTING TIME WITH SEAT LIMITS FOR HSC KIDS
Every Year 12 student will be asked if they feel unwell before commencing Higher School Certificate exams this year as part of new guidelines aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said exam rooms will be limited to just 75 students this year while principals will be asked to have alternative venues on standby should a school have to close because of a positive case.
“We know that this year has been a little different to normal and we need to make sure we have these contingency plans in place just so that we do have a plan B should a school be impacted by a COVID case during that exam period,” she said.
She said students should allow extra time before exams to allow for the new procedure of asking every student is feeling in good health.
“NESA and Health haven’t recommended temperature checks but what they have said is that we should be asking each student if they’re feeling OK and making sure they’re not unwell.
“We don’t want students rushing in at the last minute.”
NSW Education Standards Authority acting chief executive Paul Martin said students who were unable to attend should get a doctor’s certificate and make an application for illness. “We’re asking principals to make sure students, when they go into the exams, are not suffering from any flu-like symptoms,” he said.
He also said he was trusting students not to use face masks in a bid to disguise themselves to sit another student’s exam.
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