Coronavirus Australia: Queensland’s border rules cruel, hypocritical state … unless you’re Tom Hanks

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk welcomes the AFL grand final – and more than 400 hangers-on, to Queensland, left. 'Crew' aboard Victorian Mark Simonds' superyacht sail in against the rules, but can stay, top. Meanwhile, the borders are policed, and requests for exemptions to attend funerals denied. Pictures: News Corp/Channel 9/News Corp

Ah, Queensland.

Outrageously hypocritical one day. Horrendously cruel the next.

How else to explain decisions being made around the NSW border – which, by the way, is open to Queenslanders.

They are welcome in Byron, and in Bondi.

No quarantine required. Just come on down.

But just try being getting into Queensland, henceforth, the callous state.

Ray Hadley has been leading the charge on this, on radio 2GB in Sydney.

Yesterday, he had a man who is 39 years old, and dying from cancer. He lives in Brisbane.

His four children, aged seven to 13, live with their Mum, across the border in NSW.

They want to see their dad before he dies.

Permission denied.

Denied!

Scott Morrison tried to intervene. He is an evangelical Christian, but you don’t have to be, to ask for mercy in this case.

Okay, said Queensland. One of the children can come over the border, and he’ll be driven to his father’s beside to say goodbye for one hour, and then it’s back to NSW with him.

And why?

Nobody can explain it.

Traffic at the NSW-Queensland border. Picture: Jason O'Brien

Covid is not rampant in NSW. What are the chances of this man’s children having it and spreading it? Minuscule.

Then, today, another case: Sarah is 26 years old, and she was raised in Queensland, but now lives in Canberra.

Her father was dying.

She applied for permission to see him before he died.

She didn’t get her exemption until Friday. It was too late. He died on Wednesday. So she won‘t ever see him again.

Well, at least she could go to the funeral, and be with her family, and pay her respects.

She took her exemption paperwork and went to Brisbane, and straight into hotel quarantine.

From there, she applied for an hour’s release to attend the funeral.

Denied!

But not just denied: the bureaucrat in charge told her she shouldn’t even be in Queensland. Why not?

Because the exemption was to visit her dying father. And he’s dead, so, you know, what are you even doing here?

The inhumanity boggles the mind.

Again, there is essentially no Covid in Canberra. What chance that she’s infected? None. Why can’t she quarantine with her family? Distance herself at the funeral for an hour?

The Lady Pamela at a Gold Coast marina after millionaire construction magnate Mark Simonds and his family sailed her up from Melbourne for maintenance. They were fined and quarantined, but they can stay. Picture: News Corp

People are carrying on like the rest of the country has been to Chernobyl. Like everyone else is toxic. But we know that‘s not actually the case.

Which brings us to the shocking hypocrisy.

Tom Hanks flew into Queensland this week. He’s not in hotel quarantine. He came on a private jet. So if you’re famous, in you go.

It also helps to be rich.

We all know the story of the millionaire family from Victoria who sailed up to Queensland on a luxury yacht, saying the boat needed maintenance.

They hopped off at Eden to get coffee. They weren‘t crew, as they claimed, but a man, his wife, their kids, and a friend, who is Lindsay Fox’s daughter.

They were fined, and forced into quarantine, but they’ve been allowed to stay in Queensland, which was of course their goal.

And why? One of them is a major sponsor of the Geelong Cats.

They want to go to the footy.

The AFL’s Gold Coast hotel quarantine bubble. Picture: Supplied

Speaking of footy, who are all the people allowed into Queensland, on the guise of being with the AFL?

We’ve been told that James Sutherland – former boss of Cricket Australia – is there.

How did he get an exemption to travel? He is on the board of the Geelong Football Club. And he’s apparently got “experience with touring sports teams.”

There are a heap of wives, kids, support staff, hangers-on as well.

Ah yes.

If only you were the second cousin of an AFL commissioner’s son, you too could be in Queensland. Beautiful one day, acts of beastly cruelty the next.