John Barilaro, Steven Miles not on the same page on border debacle discussions

No end in sight for “disproportionate impact” of QLD border closures, as leaders shift the blame for the debacle.

It’s unclear to what extent state leaders are talking to each other on the New South Wales – Queensland divide.

As all of New South Wales – including the Northern Rivers which has no active Covid-19 cases – comes to term with news it will remain in lockdown until at least September 10, the disconnect of border communities was expected to drag on.

Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles claims the NSW government has had a “change of heart” on its approach to cross-border negotiations but his NSW counterpart, John Barilaro, has denied this.

Queenslanders will be allowed to have 100 visitors to homes, dancing will be allowed in venues, and stadiums can be at full capacity from 4pm today.

At the same time, non-medical support staff for hospitals, including cleaners, are considered non-essential and cannot cross the border for work.

“We do acknowledge that the border restrictions have an impact, a disproportionate impact, on those that live on the border particularly the NSW and Queensland border,” Mr Miles said in a press conference on Friday.

The Queensland border closure has been posing ongoing challenges for residents.

“And I’m really pleased to report that we’ve had an approach from the Deputy Premier of New South Wales to work with them to collaborate on border arrangements so that we can reduce the impacts of them on their community.

“Not long ago, the (Queensland) Premier wrote to the Premier of NSW and asked for that collaboration at that stage.”

Mr Miles was referring to a suggestion by Queensland that border checkpoints be moved to the Tweed River.

“It was declined. However, we certainly welcome this change of heart, this approach from the Deputy Premier of NSW, to work with us and of course, we will work with them to put in place whatever measures we can to both keep the border safe but also minimise its impact to the extent that it is possible,” he said.

But Mr Barilaro has said there was no change of heart by his government, which was hearing “crickets” from Queensland.

Residents out and about near the Queensland-NSW border in Coolangatta.

“I’ve said consistently that I haven’t personally reached out, but my agency, the Department of Regional NSW and the cross border commissioner, who reports to me, regularly works (with Queensland) to find ways to minimise the impact on the border,” Mr Barilaro said.

“It wasn’t about moving the border but how to resolve the issues in front of us.

“It’s not a change of heart, it’s exactly what we have been doing.”

Mr Barilaro has not supported the Tweed River checkpoint suggestion.

“I’ve said this consistently: the idea of moving the border to an arbitrary line that the Queensland government has decided on, where there’s no understanding of the communities of interest, just moves the problem elsewhere in New South Wales,” he said.

“Moving the border isn’t the answer.

“The answer is access across the border.”

Mr Barilaro said there “doesn’t seem to be an appetite” by Queensland “to change anything”.

“We felt there was some positive move in the conversations we were having, but there’s really nothing to report,” he said.

Police at the border in Tweed Heads. Picture: NCA Newswire / Scott Powick

“I’m not going to own a problem that I haven’t caused.

“I’m trying to find a solution but I can’t fix it on this side of the border if you haven’t got a willing partner.”

He said his department had “no answers” on how Queensland would react if NSW’s existing restrictions were lifted on the Northern Rivers.

When asked during her daily press conference to address concerns that proposed Tweed River checkpoints – which her government suggested – would cut off Tweed Shire residents south of the waterway from their own hospital and other services, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk responded only by referring vaguely to the dialogue between states.

“That is what we put forward and it was actually rejected by New South Wales,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“I think there’s people in the Tweed that don’t think we put that forward. We put that forward and it was rejected.”

After a group of other Northern NSW politicians banded together to call for new checkpoints to be trialled at the southern and western edges of the Tweed Shire, Byron mayor Michael Lyon brought an urgency motion before his council’s meeting on Thursday and councillors resolved to support the establishment of a cross-border community zone pilot.