MP won’t ‘risk’ NQ

Townsville meets criteria for Covid-19 quarantine facility

TOWNSVILLE is the only regional city outside southeast Queensland which can meet criteria for a federally-funded quarantine facility, new analysis reveals, with the local MP already vowing it will “never” happen.

Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast are the only other regional areas that could house a future quarantine facility if it was to go outside the state’s capital, with the Palaszczuk government having expressed a preference for a facility outside Brisbane.

But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is continuing to push for the Toowoomba proposal.

In criteria announced by the Morrison government on Friday night, a quarantine facility must be near an airport which regularly takes commercial passenger flights and within an hour’s drive of a tertiary hospital to receive federal funding.

Those criteria knocked out the Premier’s preferred option of the Toowoomba Wellcamp proposal. There are six tertiary hospitals in the state, the three in Brisbane being the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital and Prince Charles Hospital.

It leaves Townsville Hospital, Gold Coast University Hospital and Sunshine Coast University Hospital as the only tertiary hospitals that a facility could be built near.

Herbert MP Phil Thompson said he would not accept any suggestion that a facility be located in Townsville.

“We haven’t had a positive

Covid case in well over a year. I will not put the people of Townsville at risk so the Premier can get an easy win on regional quarantine,” Mr Thompson said.

“I want to be as clear as possible in saying, it will not be happening in Townsville.”

Ms Palaszczuk said her government has no other options on the table for its push for a regional quarantine hub.

“We have a very clear option on the table, that comprehensive proposal now has been forwarded to the Commonwealth with all of their outstanding issues addressed,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“It is very, very comprehensive.”

The Premier, who said the government was waiting to hear the Commonwealth’s decision around Toowoomba, claimed it was “a bit rich” to have new criteria “dumped” on them on Friday.

It is understood Ms Palaszczuk delivered a new, more detailed proposal for the Wellcamp proposal to national cabinet on Friday without warning.