Originally Posted by
Ragnor
"The idea is not to politicise these individual administrative decisions.” Queen P has/has not control I don't know. It is not politicization to insist that all decisions especially ones of this magnitude be ultimately the responsibility of the elected representatives. If the Act doesn't build in a mechanism by which the Health Minister can override the CHO's regulations then the Act is deficient and ought to be amended immediately.
Premier trips over borders
SARAH ELKS ROSIE LEWIS
NCA NEWSWIRE / SARAH MARSHALL
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Friday
PALASZCZUK’S OFFICE SAYS SHE WAS WRONG IN DEFENDING BAN ON FUNERAL VISIT
The office of Annastacia Palaszczuk has conceded the Queensland Premier “misspoke” when she defended her state’s declaration of Canberra as a COVID “hotpot” which led to a young woman being denied permission to attend her father’s funeral.
Ms Palaszczuk said she was “heartbroken” seeing the images of ACT resident Sarah Caisip on Thursday, dressed in full PPE when she was allowed to briefly view her father’s body after being banned from attending the Brisbane funeral with her mother and 11-year-old sister.
The hardline stance in refusing to relax the mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine requirements for mourners has fuelled outrage after AFL players and celebrities were allowed to stay at resorts and five-star hotels.
At a press conference on Friday, Ms Palaszczuk said the ACT
— which has not had a COVID case in months — was still excluded because a man with COVID-19 had entered Queensland through the ACT.
This was incorrect. The man came from Sydney, via Canberra, into Queensland — but was never diagnosed with COVID-19.
A Queensland government spokeswoman later confirmed Ms Palaszczuk “misspoke”.
In the face of the fallout over the treatment of Ms Caisip, Ms Palaszczuk insisted she was powerless to make decisions about quarantine exemptions, with only Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young able to do that under the law.
“Everyone who has seen those images is heartbroken,” she said. “I don‘t make those decisions … under the act, it’s her (Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young) decision. We’ve got to take the clinical advice here.”
A statement from Queensland Health said Dr Young had “made the decision to include the ACT as a hotspot due to the frequent movement of NSW residents in and out of the territory”, despite entreaties from ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr that Canberra has never been a hotspot.
University of Queensland law professor Graeme Orr confirmed Dr Young held the power under Border Restrictions Direction No 13. “Only the CHO or her deputy can waive entering quarantine if you come from a hotspot, then only for really exceptional circumstances … and only a public health official can give permission to leave quarantine for exceptional circumstances,” he said.
“The idea is not to politicise these individual administrative decisions.”
In a moment of emotion during a press conference, Ms Palaszczuk responded to criticism from federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann by revealing she had also lost a loved one during the pandemic.
“These are difficult decisions, they are heartbreaking,” she said. “These issues hurt me deeply. They hurt me deeply because during this pandemic I’ve lost loved ones as well.”
It was later confirmed Ms Palaszczuk’s grandmother died in June. She was able to attend her funeral.
Senator Cormann had said Ms Caisip “did not present a risk just for holding her dad’s hand while he was passing away”. The government’s Senate leader said the Palaszczuk government’s handling of her case was “just plain disgraceful” and “so cold-hearted”.
“You cannot tell me that the Premier of Queensland, if she had so chosen, would not have been persuasive in getting a more caring and a more appropriate outcome here,” he said.
How can someone without a heart be 'heartbroken'.
So easy to shed crocodile tears & make vote appealing statements after f...ing up big time yet again.Is anyone really going to vote for her.