Image that changed Mayor’s mind about border closure

Until recently, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate was a supporter of the Queensland Government’s decision to keep the state’s border closed. That was until he saw this image.

GOLD Coast Mayor Tom Tate says the images of 30,000 protestors converging in Brisbane without punishment is what changed his mind to call for an urgent end to Queensland’s border blockade.

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Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Mayor Tate had previously been a staunch supporter of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s rigid border ban, but after seeing the hordes of protestors flaunting social distancing rules at the weekend, he said he now wanted the borders to reopen as soon as possible.

“Seeing 30,000 protestors gathered kind of wakes you up - it looked like different rules, he said.

“We’ve all been doing our best, but when you see that sort of stuff (with the protestors) it sends people’s heads’ spinning.

Tens of thousands of people gather for the Black Lives Matter rally in King George Square. Picture: Peter Wallis

“Open the border. Give us a date and if you have to jig the date (because of evolving

situations) then we will go with them, but if you don’t have a date it’s hard to go with you.”

He said the effectiveness of other states in nullifying the virus was another reason to hasten the return to normal cross-border operations.

“The scoreboard has changed,” he said.

Originally published as Image that changed Mayor’s mind about border closure