Furious Qantas boss blasts Annastacia Palaszczuk for playing a 'popularity game' by refusing to open Queensland to Sydney - as health experts tear her 'flimsy' medical reasoning to shreds
Annastacia Palaszczuk has been slammed for refusing to reopen the Queensland border to Sydneysiders when community transmission throughout the country is so low.
Residents in the Harbour City have been told they're too high a risk to travel to the Sunshine State - despite the city recording just one new local COVID-19 case on Monday.
NSW residents who have been outside of Sydney for at least 14 days will be able to 'travel freely' to and from Queensland without quarantining from 1am on Tuesday.
Residents from all other states - except for Victoria - are able to travel to Queensland without quarantining as they are not considered to come from 'COVID-19 hotspots'.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce issued a fresh warning to Ms Palaszczuk, telling her: 'sometimes the popular decision isn't the right one'.
The Queensland Premier says the decision to reopen the border will likely be made at the end of the month and will be based on advice from Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young.
But multiple heath experts claim the decision to keep the border closed makes no medical sense.
Saturday's Queensland election result secured Labor a third term in office with a five per cent swing that has been widely attributed to Ms Palaszczuk's consistent and uncompromising coronavirus stance
Victoria recorded no new coronavirus cases on Monday and no deaths for the third straight day (pictured: Degraves St in Melbourne)
On Monday, NSW recorded one new case of locally-transmitted COVID-19. There were a further six cases in hotel quarantine
Bruce Thompson, dean of health sciences at Swinburne University, said Queensland's criteria for 28 days of no community transmission of COVID-19 was unnecessary.
'We can only base this on evidence and the level of evidence for basing this on state-to-state transmission is flimsy,' he told the Australian Financial Review.
'When you start doing these principles, you really need to be thinking are we really going too far.'
ABC health editor Dr Norman Swan said the rules were unjustified since the national cases were so low.
But Ms Palaszczuk, who has continually come under fire for her border closure, insists it is still too dangerous to reopen.
On Monday, NSW recorded one new case of locally-transmitted COVID-19. There were a further six cases in hotel quarantine.
Victoria recorded no new coronavirus cases on Monday and no deaths for the third straight day.
Ms Palaszczuk has also been criticised for her elimination strategy rather than the suppression strategy advocated by the Federal Coalition and NSW Liberal Party.
If you travel to Byron Bay you will be able to return to Queensland via road without quarantining
On Sunday, vindicated by the poll results, she said there can be no economy unless the virus is controlled first.
'What's happening around the world is they're going into lockdown,' she said.
'When you go into lockdown there is no economy.'
'We are the envy of the world at the moment and I want it to remain that way.'
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has also hit out at the premier, labelling her decision 'extremely frustrating'.
The airline boss, who has been campaigning for the state's border to reopen, warned that the border closure was causing widespread economic damage.
'What gets me is this is obviously popular. She's won the election and congratulations to the Premier,' he told 2GB.
'But sometimes the popular decision is not the right decision and there's a lot of factors going into this that clearly are not going into it.'
Business groups have been vocal in their fury at Ms Palaszczuk, accusing her of 'playing politics' with the borders and further crippling an economy already on its knees.
According to data released by Australian Bureau of Statistics, Queensland's jobless rate is the highest in the nation - even compared to Victoria.
At least 138,200 Queenslanders lost their jobs throughout the pandemic, according to state Treasurer Cameron Dick.
In September, Queensland's unemployment rate was estimated to be at about 7.7 per cent, while New South Wales recorded 7.2 per cent.
Western Australia, which also implemented tough restrictions to keep the state safe, had a jobless rate of 6.7 per cent, as did Victoria - even after six months of lockdown.
The Sunshine State has gone 52 days without a case of community transmission, and many fear reopening the border too soon would cost the peace of knowing they were safe.
AUSTRALIA'S BORDER RESTRICTIONS:
NEW SOUTH WALES: Exemption required if coming from Victoria. All other states allowed
VICTORIA: No restrictions, but not allowed into most states
QUEENSLAND: Exemption required if coming from Victoria or Greater Sydney. Open to regional NSW from November 3. All other states allowed.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Exemption required if coming from Victoria. Open to all other states
TASMANIA: Will open to NSW on November 2. Exemption required if coming from Victoria. Other states are allowed.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA: From November 14 everyone allowed but residents from NSW and Victoria must self-quarantine
ACT: Exemption required if coming from Victoria. All others are allowed.
NORTHERN TERRITORY: Victorians must quarantine at their own expense. All others are allowed.
AUSTRALIA: Only people who have been in New Zealand for 14 days can enter without hotel quarantine. Australians and permanent residents must quarantine in hotels. Other foreign nationals are only permitted in exceptional circumstances.