QLD NSW border: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk under fire over ‘extreme’ 28-day rule

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has come under fire over the 28-day border rule, with an expert calling it “too stringent” and the NSW Premier accusing her of making up “every excuse” to keep its border closed.

PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has come under heavy fire for her insistence that the border with NSW will remain closed unless it goes 28 days without community transmission of COVID-19, with the decision branded “extreme” and “too stringent”.

Three new cases were detected in the state on Wednesday, with NSW officials given 48 hours to trace their origin.

Appearing on Sunrise on Thursday morning infectious diseases expert Robert Booy said there was no way of wiping out the virus entirely in a pandemic.

“(The rule) is too stringent, and hundreds of thousands of people who straddle the border are suffering,” he said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

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“There’s science behind what’s going on, yes, but there’s also subjectivity and uncertainty, and that leaves room for different decisions.

“We need to take a better look. Maybe we can say there are hot spots to avoid but to avoid the entire state is disproportionate and unfair.”

Ms Palaszczuk told a press conference on Thursday morning that she was “not ruling anything out” regarding the border.

“Those decisions are made at the end of the month and there is another 24 hours for them to look at where those cases have come from,” she said.

“I’m the premier of Queensland and my job is to keep Queenslanders safe.

“If the NSW premier is saying that she is on high alert about these new cases then I am on high alert.”

Professor Robert Booy from the University of Sydney talks about the COVID-19 virus. Picture: Australian Academy of Science

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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian accused Queensland of making up “every excuse” to keep its border closed, saying Ms Palaszczuk is “unjustified” in her approach to borders.

Ms Berejiklian has lashed out at the “additional rule” imposing a 48-hour deadline to link three new cases before the border clock restarts.

“The Queensland government keeps changing the goalposts. I’ve never heard of this rule where you have to have two days to make sure you link your cases to an existing case,”

she told Channel 9’s Today.

“I mean, that’s just something they plucked out of, I don’t know where. I’ve never heard that advice before.”

Ms Berejiklian told 2GB Queensland’s expectation was “unrealistic” as it took time for genome testing to establish the source of infections and links to known clusters.

“It might take a couple of days for that to occur, if and when that occurs,” she said.

“I just think the Queensland Government is really just thinking up every excuse it can as it goes along and I don’t think that’s acceptable.”

The premier said it was “highly improbable” a state the size of NSW would meet Queensland’s expectations.

“For a jurisdiction the size of NSW, with the open economy we have, with the ability we’ve given to our citizens to do, in the main, what they would normally do in a COVID-safe way — I think it’s a benchmark no state our size would ever be able to meet,” she told the ABC.

“What the important questions that should be asked – and this is what I’ll be asking of Victoria — are, ‘How well do you manage a case when it comes up? How well do you make sure when a cluster emerges that you take action to get it under control?’

“They’re the questions that should be asked. Not these artificial days, not these benchmarks that will never be met.”

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NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard also unleashed a fierce attack on Ms Palaszczuk, banding her “petty” and “cruel”.

“As health minister here in NSW, I’m over it,” he told Sky New.

“I’ve got to say I think Premier Palaszczuk is being political, she is being cruel.

“It’s time this pettiness is put aside and we move forward.

“We are all Australians.

“As health minister I am constantly having requests from people in NSW who are in some very sad situations who want to get across the border to reunite with families.

“The range of circumstances that families need to gather together to contemplate, to care about, give each other care and support, is just enormous.”

Also speaking in 2GB on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the policy would cost jobs.

“Is she for jobs or not?” Mr Morrison said.

“The other day she was saying she was all for jobs but being all for jobs means you’ve got to balance the risks that you face like New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian is.

“They’re managing to basically keep cases to an incredibly low level, they’re doing a great job with their testing and tracing regime … dealing with outbreaks, getting New South Wales open.

“Queensland can do the same thing.”

Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall said delaying the reopening of the border would be another frustrating blow for city traders.

“It’s an ongoing kick in the head. It’s not going to help business and I would’ve thought a few schoolies would’ve been looking forward to coming up to the Gold Coast,” he said.

“It’s disappointing if all bets are off again. We need the confidence and the hand around the shoulder.”

Mr Hall agreed with Ms Berejiklian’s view the 28-day rule was unrealistic in the midst of a global pandemic.

“We’ve always looked at the 14-day incubation window. Given the absence of cases and the celebration of how good we are at contact tracing, surely 28 days would be extreme,” Mr Hall said.

“This is a real test for the premier’s commitment to separate politicking from the economy and people’s health.”