CHANGING RULES PART OF THE PROBLEM
ONE rule for all. That’s the way it’s gotta be little darling. Sorry, wrong crooner. But the kerfuffle among residents on the Gold Coast’s outskirts at Springbrook over the return into its midst of much-loved local and Australian music legend John Williamson is fair enough.
The man behind Australian classics including True Blue had been in regional Victoria – as revealed at goldcoastbulletin.com.au on Thursday – for a concert tour, aborted due to the state’s fourth sudden lockdown due to a fresh COVID-19 outbreak.
Mr Williamson and his wife headed for Sydney via Melbourne’s airport and after seven days in NSW returned to their beloved Springbrook.
Eagle-eyed locals wondered how that could possibly be given anyone returning to Queensland (including residents) who had been in Victoria in the two weeks leading up to the end of May were required to isolate for 14 days on return.
In fairness to Mr Williamson, as his manager explained blaming “confusion”, the rules around borders and quarantining are not crystal clear. It has been a moving feast when it comes to sudden lockdowns, re-entry rules and – of particular frustration for small business and tourism operators – any thresholds for such events. When will the day come when the nation is in unison when it comes to lockdown thresholds and travel bans?
Mr Williamson and his wife have certainly not conducted themselves as required to the letter of the rules. But the rules as advised also don’t contain specific directives for people like the couple who had been in Victoria prior to May 27 who had spent time in NSW before their Queensland re-entry.
The advisory also says anyone arriving into Queensland from Victoria prior to 1am on May 28 was required to follow the same lockdown edicts in place in Victoria. So the “confusion” argument is more than valid. But essentially, rules have been broken just as they have been by a Melbourne couple who skipped out of Victoria into Queensland and the Sunshine Coast.
The differences between the Williamsons and the pair are many. The Melbourne couple have since tested positive. They also allegedly appear to have been aware that they were positive when the woman lost her sense of smell on entry into Queensland. It didn’t stop them visiting a string of venues along the way and appearing to travel via Goondiwindi, avoiding a heavier police presence and patrons at the Gold Coast border. The pair potentially faced police action and serious offences at deadline.
By contrast the Williamsons’ quarantine breach appears inadvertent.
All the trending is “Vanlife” this, “Vanlife” that, but, if you’re living in your van, but not travelling, you’re just sleeping in your car on the street, or, homeless. Don’t be a pretender. The Mad Rooster
Nobby Beach towers to have less parking due to light rail ... people paying the price for these shacks don’t do public transport. Once again I call for an on-site car space for every bedroom in a development. P*ssing into the wind again I know. Daz, R/Bay
Thank you to all the wonderfully efficient & friendly people administering the Covid jabs at Albert Waterways. What a slick process. Appointment at 7.15. Wife needled at 7.16. Me 7.21. Back in the car at 7.40. Thank you to all & BTW – neither of us had any side-effects. Pedro
Tradies should and will park whereever we like. And you will continue to lose sleep about your carpark for the rest of time. Tradie
Congratulations to the AFP and colleagues worldwide with capturing those scumbags. Now put the Aussie criminals out in the sticks, put them to work building a prison with no TV, no internet, no heating, no cooling. Not enough room for them in prisons? Move to day shift/night shift so one sleeps in the cell in the day, the other sleeps there at night. Also creates jobs for more prison officers. Congratulations again. Now throw away the key.
Two cannibals were eating a clown. One asked the other, does this taste funny to you? Ron S
Ahhhh Mayor Tate, I think you’re a bit confused. Your council is more of a “developer-based planning reference committee” which is totally opposite
Everybody on the Goldy should ring, email or send Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews a letter and tell her that the only place the ‘Biloela 4’ will be resettling is in Biloela, Qld, Australia. They should not have been taken from there in the first place. to the one Community Alliance is proposing. Sandy, Palm Beach.
Gecko has plenty to say on the cableway but nothing to say on the Coomera Connector, which will wipe out many koalas. Priorities?
Mad Rooster, problem is millennials have been totally dumbed down in school so are unable to make their own choices or have their own thoughts. SB
Ripping the Tamil family out of Biloela where they were settled, accepted and loved to isolate them on Christmas Island for years is bad enough and in line with what China does, but now, in an even worse move, the federal government says it might relocate these suffering people to another country! This is Australia, Prime Minister. We look after battlers, we do not torture them. Curly Bells
Tom Tate – you were originally voted in by ratepayers on your promise of a cruise ship terminal. What we got was a concrete jungle, poor roads, less rubbish tips, poor transport coverage across the whole GC and a secret council. Stan Forgham
Jolly Roger, You had every choice, you could’ve declined both.
We, Landlords pay rates on rental properties. Renters have paid for it through their rent. Landlord.
I never imagined that changing all my globes to LED would have such an effect on global warming. I’m impressed. Doc
Australia is a world’s best practice country. AstraZeneca is not world’s best practice. Jeff Laws
How deeply ignorant is it to say that AstraZeneca is an ‘inferior’ vaccine. I’ve had it, now a week away from the 2nd, and feel very happy to have done so. Such ill-informed ‘opinions’ deserve no oxygen. Our Premier, who should have led from the front, is hugely to blame for such mixed messaging.
I would like to express my gratitude to Tom Tate for ‘strongly urging me to stand at the 2024 elections’ ... regrettably I am going to be about $500,000 short to do it. Sheridan Whitehead
Well said to no name re: cooler than predicted. I’ve said it in the past. Global warming or”climate change “is left wing greenie scaring propaganda . All the best scientists have stated that this is a normal climate cycle. The global temperature has dropped 0.5% over the last 20 years. Would be nice to hear the truth from the greenies for a change. John Z
The Gold Coast real estate market is in for a massive correction! It’s makes me shudder in my boots when I see and read all this hype! The word unsustainable comes to mind!
Hey, who won the cornhole tossing between Aus and Kiwis? That’s right, no one cares, just like the banter between JWH, Doug and that other no name unit. Ronald
History is a great teacher and studying modern history, in particular, should be a must for political leaders, their advisers and military chiefs. If the lesson of the failed Russian invasion of Afghanistan had been heeded, the coalition of western nations would not have repeated the same mistake. The other lesson not learned from history, is the need to prepare in advance for local translators and other employees to be evacuated together with foreign forces and not be left to fend for themselves. These people must be rewarded for putting themselves and their families in such danger. To say they can apply for humanitarian visas, as the Australian government has done, after closing it’s embassy, is deplorable.
Paul Weston, where should we park then? I work on high rise in Broadie so tell me where I can park. I live on Tamborine Mtn and can’t catch a bus to work. So let me know where I can park and I shall park there. Grub
A Have Your Say text on June 9, 2021 suggested renters should pay for garbage collection like homeowners do. Be informed that owners of rental properties pay for garbage collection and this is passed on to renters in the rental they pay. If renters had to pay a garbage collection fee, it would mean the property would be charged twice.
Hey Flipper, get your facts right before you open mouth – the whale was caught in fish trap lines from down sth. Not the nets here. Whale Watcher
There were more snowflakes in Maroons jerseys than on the Granite Belt. Oh when the Blues, Oh when the Blues. Stevie M
Woot Hoot the Collingwood faithful have seen the light, with King Eddie dethroned and the failed Buckley experiment behind them, maybe the Colliwobble Curse has been removed. Good luck in 2022. Chopper
Seriously. If you said Prince Harry had red hair he’d sue for defamation. Has he got shares in a law firm?
Why oh why can’t people do as asked? If the Covid case in Caloundra is confirmed, a very selfish couple have now put 2 states on high alert. Family is important but so are ALL Australians. It beggars belief that this could happen. Di
Good on ya Chook, you just wasted $8m of Qld taxpayers money to feed your ego only to watch your team get smashed by the Blues. Gaz VL