Queenslanders are right behind our brave Premier

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has shown she is not afraid to back down.

It takes a brave Queensland Premier to tell prospective visitors from NSW and Victoria to stay home given that in normal times tourism generates nearly $30bn for the state’s economy each year.

Indeed, usually at this time of year, as many New South Welshmen as want to come are ushered over the border and gladly led like lambs to the slaughterhouse that is Suncorp Stadium to receive another lesson in how to play State of Origin football.

These are not normal times but the distrust and resentment Queenslanders have often shown toward the larger southern states has only hardened under the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the public sentiment that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is heeding when she insists Queensland will end border restrictions in its own good time.

On talkback radio and social media, the name that is involved most often in discussions about whether the border ban should be lifted is “Ruby Princess”. Coming a close second is “Newmarch House”.

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Both of these outbreaks have produced valuable lessons for everyone in Australia charged with stopping the spread of the virus. Indeed, when a positive case was detected at a Rockhampton aged care facility last week, the swift Queensland Government response was informed by the experience of Newmarch House.

The curve may have been smashed in Australia but the fear of a second wave of the virus hitting Queensland is so acute that even Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate — a man whose town has a lot to gain from welcoming back interstate tourists — was moved to say that health trumps everything.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is fond of saying “we’re all in this together” and that is true. But the cultural fabric of Queensland includes a long history of doing things differently to its brother states. A deadly pandemic was only going to reinforce that culture, not change it.