Anna Caldwell: Queensland Premier creating a culture of fear

The Queensland Premier continues to frighten the people of her state, and refuses to show any signs of compassion at a time when people need hope, writes Anna Caldwell.

After 18 gruelling months of living in a pandemic, premiers should be getting better, not worse, at understanding the human toll. All of us should be getting better at contemplating the idea that the ­mental health scars will take lifetimes to heal.

And yet, confronting this problem eludes many of our leaders.

The puppet masters of big decisions that are dealing the most cruel blows are, of course, empire-building premiers.

Memphis Facer is happy to be heading home at last. Picture: Ginette Guidolin

The story of little Memphis, the three-year-old boy separated from his parents over Annastacia Palaszczuk’s border policies is a new low — not just for the Queensland Premier, but for our country.

Memphis Francis had to have his face splashed across the front pages of newspapers in order to finally secure an exemption from Queensland authorities to get home to his parents.

But what’s more heart-wrenching is that there are thousands of Australians facing all sorts of unspeakable trauma because of lockdowns and border policies whose stories are never told.

Health Minister Greg Hunt ­unleashed on Palaszczuk yesterday, saying her border policy was a “profound moral failure”.

“In terms of compassion, we know that league players and their partners have been allowed into Queensland. The fact that beautiful young children or patients with cancer are being ­denied entry for reuniting with their families, or being treated is, I think, a profound moral failure,” he said.

“Let these people in for medical treatment and for a three-year-old to be fully reunited with their family.”

Annastacia Palaszczuk is using scare politics in response to the Delta outbreak. Picture: Terry Pontikos

With all the publicity there was eventually a backflip — but what a disgrace it took so long.

Of course, premiers have every right to protect their citizens.

However, a lack of compassion or any understanding of the human toll does far more harm than good.

The same is true for the delay in helping children get back to school, the mental health toll and the crucial moments lost are immeasurable.

NSW puts a special focus on HSC students. But, in fact, it is much younger children who will feel the deepest impact on their formative learning.

What of these young children who are in homes with parents simply ­unable to help them “learn”?

And yet, we drag our feet when ­solutions like early vaccination of teachers and rapid antigen testing are in reach.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Delta has proven in NSW and ­Victoria that when it takes hold it is near impossible to stop.

But there is a growing acceptance in Australia that no state will keep it out forever.

What Australians need now is a clear, consistent plan they can grab onto as we chart our way back, instead of just adding more roadblocks to freedom.

Premiers must stop moving goalposts. It is time for Australia to come together and keep our eyes on the prize — freedom.

Crucially, the prize is not living life free of Covid, as some premiers would have us believe.

Palaszczuk, on the same day the Memphis disgrace was revealed, also returned to her politics of fear, stoking the concerns of anxious parents but raising the spectre of unvaccin­ated children.

The health experts and the best ­advice in this country and the world say that the risk to children remains proportionally small and even smaller when 80 per cent of the population is vaccinated.

But Palasczcuk, who has shown time and time again a sophisticated ability to pick up on fear in the community and amplify it, put a giant spanner in the opening-up works this week saying she wasn’t confident ­because children will remain at risk.

It is entirely reasonable to ask questions about protecting children. But it is unfair to drop a fear bomb with no solution or plan.

In doing so, the Premier simply has sowed more seeds of doubt in already frazzled minds and hearts who are waiting to return to a life that resembles normalcy.

It is an almost predictable twist that NSW, where we have made ­bungle after bungle as this Delta outbreak took hold, will emerge again as the leaders of this country in learning to truly live with the virus.

Out of the ashes, Sydney will lead the way. Again.

Because we have no other choice worth considering.

Early next week the NSW government is set to release its long-delayed road map to reopening.

The plan will chart the return to life for vaccinated people. But more than that, it will instil hope.

And as Sydney tries to move into a post-delta era, you can guarantee ­border wars will take centre stage in a 2020 redux as Premiers try to keep control.

As a nation we must rise above it.

Gladys Berejiklian showed true leadership and goodwill on this front yesterday, offering NSW to open up to international travel at 80 per cent vaccination rate. In our winter of discontent here in NSW, we are still ­getting some things right.