BORDER BLOW UP
NSW Premier urges reopening as police defend barriers
THE Gold Coast’s police chief is being forced to rebut claims by southern residents that unmanned hard border blocks are leaving them stranded and putting safety in jeopardy. It comes as Premier Gladys Berejiklian of NSW – which had eight new cases on Tuesday – called for faith in testing and other states to reopen on “compassionate” compassionate Christmas grounds.
THE Gold Coast’s police chief has hit back at locals who claim they are stranded and unsafe due to border blocks at smaller crossings – as the NSW Premier calls for “compassionate” reopenings.
NSW recorded eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler on Tuesday rubbished claims emergency vehicles were blocked from entering Queensland. His response came as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she had faith in her state’s detection systems and quarantine.
“There are parts of New South Wales completely unaffected by this current outbreak and yet everyone in New South Wales is suffering because other state leaders have made decisions,” Ms Berejiklian said.
She said she felt “frustration at various stages of the pandemic with my other colleagues in other states” and urged them to “please consider the compassionate grounds”.
Queensland has erected border blocks to NSW again – 21 days after they were removed – with checkpoints back at the Tweed-Coolangatta borderline as well as unmanned blockades.
“You had to assess the medical risk against the risk of other things,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“That’s why we waited until Victoria had consistently 140, 120, 180 cases a day before we closed our border.”
Mudgeeraba resident Keith Douglas criticised the hard border closure to Numinbah at Nerang-Murwillumbah Road, saying emergency vehicles could not pass and it was unmanned by police. The same closure was in place in March.
“Enough is enough. This is one of many problems affecting Gold Coast farmers,” Mr Douglas said. “This barrier has been lying on the side of the road for weeks so clearly there was anticipation by the government it may need to be used.” He claimed emergency service vehicles had been barred from passing into Queensland, and said staff at the checkpoint did not have a key to open the barrier.
But Chief Superintendent Wheeler (right) rejected the claim. He said the barrier had a “removable gate” which could be operated as needed.
“The QPS has made arrangements with other emergency services agencies to ensure access for these vehicles will remain unhindered,”
he said. Chief Superintendent Wheeler said as more resources became available police would consider establishing a checkpoint again for limited hours:
“It is unhelpful when people make claims that are incorrect or patently untrue to create concerns within the community,” he said.
“I’d hope during these challenging times people would understand we cannot accommodate every single request to suit a person’s individual circumstances in a short period of time.”
Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates said she’d received a number of concerned calls from Numinbah residents.
“The (Numinbah) border closed at 4am (on Tuesday),” she said.
“It will take a few days before it’s open and manned with police officers, which I don’t think is unreasonable.
“It’s not just getting two officers. You have three shifts so it’s actually six officers.”
She had contacted Transport and Main Roads to get an SMS alert system for Numinbah Valley residents, many of whom struggle with internet connections.
Chief Supt. Wheeler said: “Police had a short time frame to re-establish hard border restrictions, achieved by 6am on Tuesday.
“Everyone needs to understand we are in a rapidly changing situation and there will be occasions where long lead-in times are simply not possible.”
More than 140 vehicles have been turned back at the Gold Coast border.
Closures are expected to be reviewed on January 8.