Qld Gov accused of human rights breaches for locking out citizens

The Queensland Government has been referred to the Human Rights Commissioner for breaching the Human Rights Act in denying stranded Queenslanders the right to come home.

The Queensland Government has been referred to the Human Rights Commissioner for breaching the Human Rights Act in denying Queenslanders stranded interstate the right to come home.

The Opposition has written to Scott McDougall after he raised his own concerns last week about the Government and its quarantine decisions.

A letter from Manager of Opposition Business Jarrod Bleijie asks Mr McDougall to “investigate the allegation of a human rights breach by the Palaszczuk Government regarding their border restrictions that are denying Queenslanders their right to lawfully return to Queensland”.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk leave a Covid-19 vaccination hub on the Gold Coast. (NCA NewsWire /Jono Searle)

Mr Bleijie submits that not allowing Queensland residents back into the state breaches parts of the Act that makes it unlawful for a public entity to make a decision not compatible with human rights or that fails to give proper consideration to a human right and that every person within Queensland has the right to move freely within the state, enter it, leave it, and to choose where they live.

“I submit that by not allowing Queensland residents back into Queensland is a clear breach of section 58 (1)(a) and section 58 (1)(b) of the Act,” the letter states.

“Denying a Queensland resident their right to return to their home state is an absolute disgrace.

Manager of Opposition Business Jarrod Bleijie (NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled)

“Especially when it involves sick children, our brave soldiers, and Queenslanders who are at risk of homelessness in a state that is not their own.”

Mr Bleijie writes that he has received a “staggering and saddening number” of pleas for help from Queenslanders stuck across the border since “harsh and cruel border restrictions” were enacted a month ago.

“We are seeing the Premier grant celebrities, NRL players and their partners entry into Queensland, yet innocent Queensland residents are denied lawful entry into their own state, even when they have noteworthy compassionate and compelling reasons for returning,” he wrote.

Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall

Mr McDougall vented his concerns in The Courier-Mail last week in a rare public spray, which Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk later rejected.

“The commission has been concerned that throughout the pandemic, blanket approaches to exemption applications designed to eliminate any risk of the spread of Covid have not properly considered the rights of those affected by restrictions and may not have been proportionate to the risk,” Mr McDougall said.

He also said he was concerned that “successful exemptions are not seen to be granted on the basis of an applicant’s celebrity status or otherwise because of the media attention they have been able to attract”, but rather on extenuating circumstances and the risk posed.

Originally published as Qld Gov accused of human rights breaches for locking out citizens