We don’t need to use abandoned mining camps. Also, Military facilities are deemed unsuitable due to their dormitory style accommodation... shared bathrooms, mess facilities, plus, 14 days confined to something smaller than a modern jail cell wouldn’t last long before people had human rights lawyers up the wazoo... (asylum seekers can wander around facilities fairly freely, so it’s not the same- and no I don’t think 14 days confined to a standard hotel room is much better).
It would have to be $50-100 million for a brand new Howard Springs style facility within 100km of each capital city (or toowoomba or Avalon as previously proposed). 1 bedroom with en-suite and kitchen granny flat demountables... Space for an aeromed chopper to land on site will have people at capital city hospitals in short time. Could be completed in 3-4 months if we’re truly on a ‘war footing’.
There’s still a bus trip between the airport and hotel... just same bus a little further in this case.
Far less expensive than rolling lockdowns and the losses to businesses and individuals and the resulting loss to the overall potential of the economy, and a fraction of the cost of the kind of bonus payments thrown at pensioners and dole recipients over the last 12 months.
Some of These facilities could be mothballed relatively inexpensively after COVID Incase of another event in the future, the rest perhaps sold off if transportable demountables are used.
It should have been commenced 9-12 months ago. IMO, it Now it appears the feds are trying to ‘make do’ with what was originally a ‘temporary measure’ of hotel quarantine because they seem to think this will be over by the time any kind of above mentioned type facility is finished.
... oh and I in no way think McGowan and his pack of professional stuff ups are in any way absolved from using a hotel that was deemed not fit for purpose!