Coronavirus: Gloves are back off in Premiers’ border skirmish

The feud between Annastacia Palaszczuk and Gladys Berejiklian has been reignited after the Queensland premier lashed out at her NSW counterpart.

Police check cars as they cross the Queensland-NSW border in Coolangatta. Picture: Steve Holland

The feud between Annastacia Palaszczuk and Gladys Berejik­lian has been reignited after the Queensland Premier lashed out at her NSW counterpart’s criticism of other states for closing their borders in response to the Sydney coronavirus cluster.

The hostility between the pair has played out throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in a public slanging match over Queensland’s border closures.

It appeared to have died down at the most recent national cabinet meeting on December 11, when the leaders were picture ­together smiling.

Cracks in the relationship appeared again on Tuesday when a clearly frustrated Ms Berejiklian criticised the swift border closures announced by various states in response to the cluster of corona­virus cases in Sydney’s northern beaches.

“The various premiers have made various decisions about borders but I ask people to think about things compassionately and base it on the facts,” Ms Berejiklian said at a press conference.

“The only time NSW has closed the border to anyone was (with) Victoria. Their case numbers were more than 140 before we took that decision, and it was subsequently and then up to 180.

“I use that fact to put things into perspective. Yes, of course, I’m concerned by what’s happening in NSW. But every response has to be proportionate to the risk.”

Ms Palaszczuk, who has been on holidays, hit back in an un­announced appearance at a press conference on Wednesday, saying it was “a bit rich” for Ms Berejiklian to attack other states for their response to the cluster.

“It was not just Queensland that took the tough measures of shutting the borders with NSW,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“The health advice of nearly every chief health officer across the country was advising their respective leaders exactly the same thing independently.

“If there hadn’t been the cluster outbreak in the northern beaches, no one would have had to take these measures and everybody would have been seeing their family and friends over this Christmas-New Year period.

“It is a bit rich for NSW to start blaming Queensland and Victoria and whatever other state and territory she wants to blame.”

Ms Palaszczuk said her government’s response was aimed at ensuring Queensland businesses were able to stay open and people were able to gather during the Christmas period.

“This has happened in NSW, it’s happened in the northern beaches, we wish them all the very best but we do not want our lifestyle compromised at this time,” she said. “As soon as they get on top of that, the sooner we can get back to semi-normal as possible.”

Labor sources close to the Premier have previously denied a rift between the two leaders but the public criticism between the pair has continued.

In November, Ms Berejiklian sent the Queensland Premier a text message to congratulate her on her re-election. “Hi Annastacia. Congratulations on your election win. I can imagine how difficult that was during a pandemic! Hope we can work together to get our borders open. Gladys,” the text message said.

Ms Palaszczuk replied three days later after the first State of Origin game with a single word response: “Queenslander!”

“I didn’t know whether to be shocked or bemused frankly,” Ms Berejiklian said at the time.