Private COVID letter to Premier: ‘You can’t get rid of this virus’

An experienced medical scientist who has become a Gold Coast tourist operator has written to the Premier warning it’s futile to keep the Queensland-NSW border closed.

A GOLD Coast tourist operator with a solid background in science sent the Premier a letter weeks ago warning about the futility of closing the border.

He calculated his business losses at $260,000. This week the amount topped $327,000. He is still waiting for a reply.

The author is George Bournelis, a Coolangatta-based golf tour operator who also happens to be a retired microbiologist from Sydney.

His diagnosis of the Queensland-NSW border war was blunt.

“COVID-19 will not be eradicated – ever. The best we can do is to control it,” he told Annastacia Palaszczuk.

The State Government's border closure is killing Queensland tourism business.

“I was hoping to not have to cancel more golf groups in July, August and September as my business will not survive. I have a couple of buses and my partner and I work in the business and I employ three casual bus drivers.”

The impact of delaying an opening of the border would have a huge impact on hotels that employ room attendants, cleaners, handymen, repairmen, tradespeople and managers, Mr Bournelis wrote.

“They (my clients) eat out every night at a range of restaurants that employ chefs, waiters and bar staff.

“They go out at night to casinos, surf clubs and pubs and bars. They play golf at a number of golf courses that employ greenkeepers, chefs, waiters and bar staff as well as pro shop attendants and golf professionals.”

An empty Coolangatta beach on the Queensland-New South Wales border. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

Mr Bournelis asked the Premier what she was hoping to achieve from the border closure in terms of health outcomes for residents.

“Can I ask what it is exactly you are waiting for before opening the borders. Is it an absolute nil rate?

“If so, please understand that this will never happen. We haven’t cured influenza, HIV, tuberculosis, whooping cough, rubella, polio and many, many other diseases that have been around for decades.’’

So there is no magical border fix here.

Mr Bournelis has continued to talk to all sorts of people – rental car business owners working across the border who live in Coolangatta, and maintenance guys stood down at golf courses.

Some live in the marginal seats of Currumbin, which Labor must win, and Gaven, which the ALP must hold to retain power after the October state election.

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“They get abusive when talking about her, they say what a stupid … and that they can’t wait until October,” he says.

In parliament this week, the Premier and Treasurer Cameron Dick, who have been travelling across the state, said Queenslanders concerned about their health supported the border closure.

Some ministers and MPs like Meaghan Scanlon, given the feedback on their office telephone lines, no doubt want the borders opened now. But they must remain silent.

This is the Premier’s captain call. Several cards must fall her way – the border opens next month, no second coronavirus wave occurs and by September tour groups are playing golf.