As Queensland reported another day without any new coronavirus infections, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has confirmed police are concerned about Victorians being smuggled in trucks over the state’s border.
Ms Palaszczuk told reporters this afternoon she’d received an operational briefing from the Queensland Police Commissioner and the state’s disaster co-ordinator regarding the people-smuggling fears.
“They do have some concerns that that practice could be in place,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“So what we say to everyone out there is, if you are thinking about doing it, don’t do it. You will be hit with a fine. Trucks will also be randomly stopped, and if you are a truck driver participating in this you will also get fined as well.”
Queensland’s state disaster co-ordinator, Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski, also warned “random” checks on freight and heavy vehicles will now be carried out at the border to ensure they weren’t smuggling in Victorians.
“Previously we’ve seen other heavy freight (and) that type of thing get waved through,” he said.
“They will still be able to do that but we will be randomly intercepting them to make sure that there are...not people getting through there that shouldn’t.
“We’ve already had people try and test the system all the way through, so we’re just going to make it really certain that people aren't doing that.”
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From midday, any person (whether a Queensland resident or non-Queensland resident) who has been in any local government area in Victoria will be forced into mandatory hotel quarantine, for a minimum of 14 days, at their own expense.
Flights were booked out yesterday and today as Queenslanders raced to get back home.
“We’re calling on Queenslanders still there to come home as soon as possible. It’s safer here – we’ve had one case in almost two weeks and that was acquired overseas,” Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles told reporters yesterday.
Anybody travelling by road into the state will also need to present one of the State Government’s new border declaration passes.
“Each person travelling must have a completed Queensland Border Declaration Pass and those travelling by road need to have one clearly displayed within their vehicle to enable priority passage,” Mr Gollschewski said.
“They must also carry identification which shows a residential address.
“The Queensland Border Declaration Pass is a print-at-home document and issued following the completion of an online questionnaire.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to understand and listen to the Queensland public health directions and follow them closely, including those who intend to travel into Queensland from other states.”
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The Queensland border will reopen, as planned, to all states and territories except for Victoria on July 10, permitted they haven’t travelled to Victoria in the 14 days before they enter Queensland.
“We just can’t risk removing border restrictions for people coming from areas of Victoria right now. These are very big concerns,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Tuesday.
Anyone who falsifies the document will face strict penalties and fines of up to $4000.
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2020-07-03 04:30:00Z
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