Premier Takes A Swipe At Scomo Over Regional Quarantine Hub

Palaszczuk advocating for months


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Annastacia Palaszczuk has taken a dig at the Prime Minister whilst announcing the build of Wellcamp, a new regional quarantine hub just outside of Toowoomba. 

Construction starts Thursday following an agreement made with John Wagner and the Wagner family, owners of the nearby Wellcamp airport. 

Wagner Corporation will manage the construction of the 1000-bed quarantine hub with the accommodation modules to be manufactured in Queensland. The State Government will operate the facility once it’s completed. 

“We all know that our hotels were not built to deal with the delta stain of this virus. I’ve been calling for this since January, it could have been built now. If we want to open our country up and we want to open our states up, regional quarantine is part of the answer,” she said.

- Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

When asked whether the PM knew about the facility, Ms Palaszczuk said, “I’m quite sure he does now.”

Following the comments, Scott Morrison responded, stating that the Queensland Government had been “at liberty” to build a regional facility in Toowoomba for months. 

“We have made it very clear that that facility did not meet the national guidelines, and that is why we are going forward together at Pinkenba,” he said.

Whilst Ms Palaszczuk did not confirm the amount Wellcamp would cost she did say it was a lot cheaper than Pikenba which was approved to build in Brisbane by the Federal Government earlier this year. 

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The Wellcamp quarantine hub is said to push 400-450 new construction jobs and will likely be complete by the end of the year. 

Meanwhile, Toowoomba residents are being told not to be concerned about any outbreaks since there have been no such occurrences at the Northern Territory's Howard Springs facility. 

Join Tom Tilley with regular rotating co-hosts Jan Fran, Annika Smethurst and Jamila Rizvi  on The Briefing, Monday - Saturday, for the day's headlines and breaking news as well as hot topics and interviews.  Available on Listnr.

Triple M Newsroom

26 August 2021

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Triple M Newsroom




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