’He knows now’: Premier leaves PM in dark

Construction is now under way on the 1000-bed Howard-Springs-style facility at Wellcamp, west of Toowoomba, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Thursday. But, when asked whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison knew about the plans, she said “I’m quite sure he does now”. “You’re all getting it live at the same time,” Ms Palaszczuk said. She defended her decision not to tell the Commonwealth about the facility, despite needing their approval for the facility to be used. “If you build it, they will come,” she said. The Queensland government was not able to confirm whether flights will be redirected to Toowoomba’s airport, but if not people would be bussed from Brisbane. In response, Mr Morrison said he had made it “very clear” to Queensland that the facility “did not meet the national guidelines”. “But, the Queensland government was always in a position to go ahead with the facility, and to have people quarantine there rather than hotels,” he said at a press conference. “That is entirely a matter for the Queensland government … they could have done that months ago. “Good for them, I wish them every success.”The new facility, which will have 500 beds online by the end of the year, with all cabins built by the end of March, will complement the Commonwealth’s facility at Pinkenba. Ms Palaszczuk, who first floated the Toowoomba facility in January, said regional quarantine facilities were “no-brainer”. “Our hotels were not built to be the last line of defence for a global pandemic,” she said.“We are going to be dealing with Delta for some time.“And if we want to open up Australia, regional quarantine facilities are the second part of the answer. The first part is vaccine.”She said an agreement had been reached with Wagner Corporation chairman and landowner John Wagner to build it.“This is a commitment by the Wagner family, working with the Queensland government, to say to the people of Queensland, ‘We want to keep you safe’,” she said.Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the government had been calling on the Commonwealth government to agree to building the facility “for months”, but finally had made the decision to go it alone. “The Doherty Institute is being talked about a lot, and their own report says (even with high vaccination rates), we will need to keep some public health measures in place – test, trace, isolate and quarantine,” Ms D’Ath said. “We will continue to need facilities. “We need to make sure they’re purpose built and keeping our community safe.”The facility will be made up of single, double and family accommodation in cabins with their own balconies. There will be no communal hallways, which authorities have attributed multiple hotel quarantine breaches to. Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the new facility would provide businesses around the state peace of mind. “When you consider the last lockdown alone cost more than $1b in economic impact and compensation, this is fantastic value,” he said.“If we can avoid just one lockdown, let alone more with this new facility … That would be fantastic.”Mr Wagner said the final design criteria was still being worked out to ensure the facility was the best the country had to offer. “This is also a great boost for Toowoomba,” he said. “This will create a lot of local employment … It will help get Queensland out of Covid-19 and on the road to economic recovery, recovery which we desperately need.”People who test positive to Covid-19 and cannot be treated in Toowoomba’s hospitals, will be transported to Brisbane for treatment.

via Technology | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://ift.tt/3mtrX5g