Federal Member for Groom, Garth Hamilton is calling on Premier Palaszczuk to outline her detailed plan for the proposed Toowoomba quarantine facility, following reports a proposal had been submitted.
Mr Hamilton said the regional quarantine idea and Toowoomba proposal is solely the Queensland State Government’s, not the Federal Governments, and the community was anxious for detail.
“The Premier first announced this on the 22nd January and our community still has no detail from the Premier on how this will work.
“The Premier Palaszczuk announced an idea with no plan, and it has caused great anxiety and fear in the community across the Toowoomba Region. Locals have been contacting me daily with concern.
“I am not surprised to see media reports of the Palaszczuk proposal unravelling, with Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett saying his community opposes it, because there is so little detail to consider,” Mr Hamilton said.
Mr Hamilton’s concern has been heightened following a quarantine worker in Perth, contracting the virus and exposing it to the community.
“I wrote to the Premier on the 25th of January and have not received a response.
“We have seen quarantine failures in Melbourne, Brisbane and in Perth. Quarantine breaches cause significant pain for the community, not just in terms of a threat to public health, but it closes businesses and cost jobs,” Mr Hamilton said.
“There are many unanswered questions here. What is the role of our local health services, what are the procedures and processes, how will the Queensland Government prevent a local outbreak as a result, has Queensland Health and the Queensland Police Service participated in the planning of this?” Mr Hamilton said.
In March 2020 the States and Territories agreed to manage quarantine arrangements in line with having responsibility for delivering the health and hospital services.
Mr Hamilton said the Queensland Government had done a good job, working with the Federal Government and other jurisdictions in managing the spread of the virus.
“What I don’t want to see is that the good work stops. That’s why I am again calling on the Premier to outline the details of how this plan will work, to reassure the people of the Toowoomba region.
“My concern is with ensuring we keep our community safe and economy opening up, to support jobs and small businesses.
This is the Premier’s idea, and the Premier must address the issues being raised by our local community. For every day the Premier is silent on her plans, anxiety grows in the community. That is why we need to see a plan from her,” Mr Hamilton said.
