Mixed reaction for QLD-NSW border changes

Gold Coast and Tweed leaders have welcomed the loosening of tough border restrictions – but residents still unable to see friends and family are not impressed. FULL DETAILS >>>

GOLD COAST and Tweed leaders have welcomed the loosening of tough border restrictions announced by the Queensland government on Friday.

Tweed Shire councillor James Owen said the restricted border bubble was a positive step in the right direction and gave residents some freedom to go to work and school.

“I’ve received hundreds of heartbreaking messages from people and this continues daily, of people not being able to care for their loved ones or get to medical appointments,” he said.

“And while it’s a big relief for many people and we’ll take it, we need to keep working for a full border bubble like we had last year whereby people can move around within the border towns freely.

“Life isn’t just about work, yes it’s great and important but there’s so much more to our communities than work and we’ll be fighting for the return of a proper border bubble.”

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Pictures of families doing fathers day over the border barriers at Coolangatta. 5 September 2021 Coolangatta Picture by Richard Gosling

Cr Owen said increasing vaccination rates in both NSW and Queensland was key to that happening and he encouraged everyone to roll up their sleeves so the border communities could soon see that full border bubble return.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said he was “delighted” by the news.

“The heart breaks when those people in Coolangatta and Tweed are dropping their income by 70 per cent and losing their livelihood, the stress, there’s tremendous stress in that,” he said.

“That’s the part that hasn’t been taken into account as much.

“For everyone there, go and check out the Swell sculptures, get out there and look at the sculptures on the beach and then get down and have some dinner, a coffee at Coolangatta.”

Meanwhile, the move has underwhelmed thousands of border residents who will still not be able to visit friends and family.

“You shouldn’t say the border bubble is returning because it’s not,” said resident Jenna Christian.

“It’s super restricted and people still can’t cross to see family etc. I mean it’s great news for kids to go to school and people to go to work but it’s not a border bubble.”

Tweed Cr James Owen with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Photo: Facebook

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Grant Gibson said the announcement would only accommodate 500 affected workers.

“What about the rest of the 15,000 affected that still can’t cross. It’s a kick in the face for anyone who is fully vaccinated,” he said.

Border resident Rylie Laidlaw said her parents in Queensland were full vaccinated and questioned when they would be able to come down and visit her.

“The whole thing is ridiculous, why allow some people in and not the rest, absolute joke,” she said.

The relaxing of border restrictions is good news for Seagulls Club in Tweed Heads, it’s reopening on September 11 after being closed since August 14, with Queensland-based staff now allowed to return to work on Monday.

Marketing manager Aroha Wezner said border shutdowns had taken a huge toll on the Tweed Heads community, not just businesses but locals separated from loved ones.

“Our general manager, head chef, duty manager and many other key staffers live in Queensland so the partial resumption of the border bubble will enable our core staff to return to work,” she said.

“The entire community has been affected by the hard border closure and we know it’s taken a toll on charities. In fact, to help out many organisations we’ve been supplying meals so they can feed the homeless in the area,” she said.

East Coast Urology practice manager Fiona Sillar said she was cautiously optimistic about the lessening of restrictions but that it would depend on the definition of what was an essential worker.

“Hopefully it means our receptionist in NSW can return to work and we can operate five days a week instead of three, but we still have patients aged from 60-90 who’ll have to get border passes and many don’t have computers,” she said.

“So yes it’s great news, but you just don’t know when it’s going to close again and that makes it very hard to plan ahead.”

Ms Sillar said the government needed to take a commonsense approach to what an essential worker was, after her cancer clinic receptionist was not deemed a “critical worker”.

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