Prime Minister Scott Morrison discusses Queensland border during Gold Coast visit

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has shared his thoughts on the Queensland border closure during a visit to the Gold Coast.

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Scott Morrison has sledged the Queensland border closure, saying it’s “not something to boast of” while visiting the Gold Coast.

The PM touched down at the Gold Coast Airport on Saturday morning.

During a site tour of Neumann Steel Fabrication in Currumbin, Mr Morrison spoke about the Queensland border closure.

“Everything we should be doing is on the health advice and that should be transparent, clear to all, it should be backed up by the medical evidence and it should be openly available. That’s what I’ve always said,” he said.

“It’s important as borders are imposed, and where state governments have made those decisions, that it is done in a consistent way.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined LNP leader Deb Frecklington at Neumann Steel Fabrication, Currumbin. Photo: Emily Halloran.

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“There can’t be double standards.

“There needs to be a clear understanding of how these rules work.

“(The borders) are not something to boast of.

“They are necessary but not aggressive necessary.”

Mr Morrison noted the economy was heavily impacted while borders were closed.

“Here in Queensland you can’t escape the fact (the state) relies very heavily on the tourism and hospitality industry. And the domestic tourism industry is incredibly important to Queensland too,” he said.

“It has always relied heavily on the NSW and Victorian markets coming up for what is always a great holiday in Queensland.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

While on site Mr Morrison spoke to a senior employee at Neumann Steel who had just become a grandfather and hadn’t been able to see his granddaughter in six months due to the border closure.

Mr Morrison sympathised, saying: “That must be really tough”.

“The borders have been put in place to deal with health protection,” Mr Morrison continued.

“It’s got to be done without double standards.

“It’s not about the borders. It’s about how you implement them, how you compassionately work with the needs that need to be worked with and to ensure you can keep the economic impact minimised as much as possible.”

The Prime Ministers visit comes after Gold Coast tourism leaders pleaded on Friday for border reopening to remain on November 1 despite COVID-19 cases being recorded in Sydney.