Lockdown takes toll on island

PALM Island residents are at odds with the biosecurity act designed to protect them.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Aboriginal communities in

Queensland were a top priority for all levels of government, but it is still a grey area for a lot of indigenous Australians.

Because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are more at risk from COVID-19 due to an increased likelihood of chronic medical conditions, 19 communities, including Palm Island, went into lockdown in late March.

Under the Federal Government’s Commonwealth Biosecurity Act, no one can enter Palm Island without going into 14 days’ isolation, unless they are an essential worker.

But for Palm Island residents who want to jump in the boat to fish, or just see their families on the mainland, the restrictions seem extreme.

Things that were once a part of their everyday life could now land them before a judge and some don’t understand why they are being treated differently from the rest of Queensland.

There have been multiple times people moving in and out of restricted zones have been caught by police and those incidents have resulted in a conviction.

For Palm Island Mayor Mislam Sam, it is frustrating that his people have to follow a different set of rules to everyone else.

For a lot of indigenous councils, this decision was made while the council areas were in caretaker mode.

When the restrictions were eased in Queensland ahead of Mother’s Day, Cr Sam said just a little bit of freedom would go a long way for his community, but there are no plans for change until June.

Cr Sam, who is on Palm Island while his children and wife remain on the mainland, knows the sacrifices his community has had to face and looks forward to the day life will go back to normal.

But for now, his hands are tied by rules laid out, in late March, by all levels of government to protect Palm Islanders from coronavirus.