Groom MP Garth Hamilton considers Wellcamp quarantine hub proposal dead

‘From the Federal Government’s view, the Wellcamp proposal came to the end with the list of requirements that came out that it didn’t meet.’

Groom MP Garth Hamilton says the Wellcamp quarantine proposal should be considered dead, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison put his support behind a different facility near the Brisbane Airport.

Mr Morrison sent a letter to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday revealing he was prepared to support a 1000-bed hub at Pinkenba.

The one-page proposal has received support from the Australian Medical Association, but Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the plan still “needs a lot more work”.

It comes several months after the State Government planned a facility near Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, which turned into a political stand-off between the two levels of government.

Mr Hamilton said he believed the latest discussion should bring an end to the consideration of the Wellcamp plan as a viable alternative to hotel quarantine.

“Obviously the Prime Minister announced the Pinkenba proposal and discussed again the sort of requirements for the project and why Pinkenba did tick off those,” Mr Hamilton said.

“There’s no infrastructure, just the facility itself.

“What everyone appreciates is that we need a long-term plan with facilities used for quarantine.

“From the Federal Government’s view, the Wellcamp proposal came to the end with the list of requirements that came out that it didn’t meet.”

Mr Miles told media on Friday that a quarantine facility could have already been built by now if the Federal Government had supported the Wellcamp proposal.

“It’s taken them five months not to give us an answer on Wellcamp, we’ve had this for 12 hours,” he said.