NSW Premier blasts Queensland border stance: ‘They make stuff up’

Queensland’s border restrictions were “beyond understanding” and were preventing families from making bookings to reunite over Christmas, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said in an extraordinary blast. It comes as Queensland recorded one new COVID-19 case overnight.

Queensland’s border restrictions were “beyond understanding” and were preventing families from making bookings to reunite over Christmas, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said in an extraordinary blast.

Ms Berejiklian, whose state is now open to all other states and territories including Victoria, on Sunday expressed frustration at Queensland’s border restrictions.

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“I just don’t even understand how they make their decisions up there. It’s beyond my level of understanding,” she said.

“They’re making up stuff as they go. They keep changing the rules, they keep espousing advice I have never heard of.”

Gladys Berejiklian and Annastacia Palaszczuk.

She said it had been a difficult year and border restrictions were making it harder for many families.

“You don’t want to see families not being able to reunite because they didn’t have enough notice to get flights booked and things like that,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“I can only make my position clear and all I can do is appeal to people’s conscience.”

NSW on Sunday recorded its 15th day of no new local coronavirus cases. Eleven cases were detected among returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.

It has been more than two weeks since NSW recorded a community transmission with an unknown source, with only one in the past four weeks.

A spokesman for Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state had always followed the Chief Health Officer’s advice.

“It’s what has kept Queensland safe and allowed Queenslanders greater freedoms than those in other states,” he said.

“Our roadmap says Queensland’s border will reopen at 1am on December 1 pending an assessment at the end of November.”

Queensland will remain closed to any declared hotspots on December 1.

If the NSW streak continues it will be 25 days without a locally acquired case on December 1, just shy of Queensland’s demand for 28 days without transmission before it opens the borders.

It will be up to the Chief Health Officer to decide if it is still considered a hotspot at that point.

The comments come as Queensland recorded one new coronavirus case overnight.

Ms Palaszczuk said the case was acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine in the Sunshine State.

The total number of active cases in the state is 13.

There was also one new case confirmed in South Australia on Sunday.

That case was woman in her 20s who had also returned from overseas and remains in hotel quarantine.

The woman only became symptomatic on day ten of her 14-day quarantine period.

In Victoria Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he was confident there was no longer community transmission in the state after 23 days without a new case. Just one active case remains in Victoria.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday announcing further easing of restrictions, with 30 visitors allowed at homes from 11.59pm on Sunday, December 13. Infants under 12 months are not included in the cap, but all other dependants are.

In welcome news ahead of summer, masks will no longer be necessary outdoors from Monday, as long as people keep a safe distance from each other. But masks will still have to be used in all indoor settings.

The Premier said masks would still need to be carried outside the home.

Victoria is set to pull ahead of NSW in relaxing some coronavirus restrictions, with the southern state’s “smaller venues” set to move to a “one person per two square metres” rule allowing up to a maximum of 50 patrons. Venues in NSW with outdoor areas can operate under the less restrictive “two square metre rule” but only outside.

Originally published as NSW Premier blasts Queensland border stance: ‘They make stuff up’