Queensland border closure for Victoria and Sydney to remain in place after election win
Any hopes that the Queensland border could open up following the state election have been rapidly slashed.
On Saturday night, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk won the election, with many people in the political sphere crediting her response to the coronavirus crisis as a large reason for her popularity.
But one rule that hasn’t been taken well has been her hard stance on border closure.
From Tuesday, all Australians will be allowed to enter Queensland bar those from Greater Sydney and Victoria.
That rule is likely to stay in place for at least several more weeks.
A review won’t be conducted until the end of November, at the earliest.
“There were a lot of attacks and we stood strong,” Palaszczuk said on Sunday.
“In this job, you have to listen to the experts and you have to communicate that to people, and that has stood us in good stead.”
Earlier, National Cabinet agreed to open all internal borders by Christmas, except Western Australia.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt on Sunday said the ongoing closure had to be motivated by medical advice and no ulterior motive.
“I am very hopeful that now the election is over that this will continue to be a medical decision,” he said.
“If it is a medical decision the very low case numbers will provide the strongest possible basis for moving to the next step.”