Annastacia Palaszczuk blasts Federal response to virus threat
Annastacia Palaszczuk has used a morning television appearance to blast the Federal Government’s handling of the coronavirus threat. But the Federal Health Minister has rejected her criticism, saying the problem is within her own government.
QLD News
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A FRUSTRATED Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has taken a swipe at the Federal Government’s handling of the coronavirus threat, saying the State needs to know who was on board the flights of those infected in Queensland.
It comes after a second person who was in a Chinese tour group in Queensland tested positive to the deadly disease last night.
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Speaking on Sunrise this morning, Ms Palaszczuk said the State Government needed the Federal Government to provide the contact details of those who were travelling with the tour group. She reiterated her criticism later in the day, saying the state also needed information about others who had travelled from Hubei Province in the past 14 days.
The state’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has also requested more information.
“The tour group that arrived, they arrived into Melbourne,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“Only the Federal Government has the details on their incoming boarding card of who they are, where they are staying and their mobile phone contact numbers.
“We need to contact those people. I don’t know at the moment in Queensland where people from the Hubei province currently are because the Federal Government has that information.
“I’m sorry to say this, but I’m frustrated at the lack of information coming from the Federal Government.”
But Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt rejected Ms Palaszczuk’s criticism, saying the full Tigerair manifest, including emails, contact numbers and other known details of all the passengers was given to the Queensland Government at 4pm yesterday.
“So if that information has not been provided within the Queensland system to the Premier, I would respectfully urge the Premier to seek that advice from her own system, but everything that is available to us is available to them,” he said.
Ms Palaszczuk later acknowledged that the State Government had received the flight manifest, but said more information was needed.
“But as we know there have been other flights taken by that Tiger Airline flight, but also the issue here is the containment of the virus.”
The Premier said contact tracing and the containment of the virus was the number one priority.
“The Prime Minister has the data and information of people incoming from these flights from the Hubei province,” she said.
“They have the details on the incoming cards which state very clearly where they are staying, and their contact numbers.
“I think I’m making myself very clear – we do not know in Queensland where people are who have come from Hubei province in the last 14 days and where they are staying - are they staying in hotels? Are they staying with family? Do they have any symptoms?”
Dr Young said she was yet to receive information she had requested from the Federal Government.
“The Commonwealth’s role in this is giving us the information so that we can go and do that contact tracing,” she said today.
“I would be very grateful if I could get more information from the Commonwealth government about people that we then could go and speak to.
“That would be very helpful to us in terms of containing that virus.”
Ms Palaszczuk said if she was in Scott Morrison’s shoes, she would be calling a Cabinet meeting immediately to work on a national response.
“I don’t believe we have enough senior people who are actually being on the federal hook-ups,” she said.
“I think the federal government should immediately recall their Cabinet and I think they should have an immediate meeting with the premiers.
“The Federal Government is focused on bringing Australia home, which is all well and good.
“But we now have confirmed cases now in Australia.
“We need to contain this now and we need everyone focused on this.”
Mr Hunt said the Queensland Government had been involved in a series of emergency meetings dealing with coronavirus outbreak and Ms Palaszczuk’s own department had been part of national crisis committee “hook-up” yesterday.
Originally published as Annastacia Palaszczuk blasts Federal response to virus threat