Tech glitch hits Qld border as police call for patience amid ‘perfect storm’ - NEWS.com.au

A technical glitch has marred the reopening of Queensland’s border to residents of northern NSW, as lengthy traffic queues form within the first 10 hours.

Police are calling for patience amid what they are calling a “perfect storm”, urging motorists to ensure they have the correct border declaration pass before they enter Queensland.

It comes as no new cases were confirmed in the state overnight, with the total number of active cases in Queensland dropping to just four.

From 1am on Thursday, the sunshine state has thrown its door open to 152,000 northern NSW residents from Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Glen Innes, and Richmond Valley shires who will not need quarantine.

Likewise, Queenslanders who head south to those parts of NSW will not need to quarantine upon return.

Gold Coast Superintendent Mark Wheeler said the combination of the 15th iteration of a border declaration pass, Queensland and NSW school holidays, and a long weekend had created the “perfect storm”.

“It’s going to be a bumpy road for a few days,” he said.

“You really need to plan your journey, think about your own individual circumstances.”

Authorities were on Thursday morning scrambling to fix a glitch in the online application system which meant seven NSW postcodes now allowed into Queensland were not being recognised by the system, knocking back eligible residents as a result.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said police were “ironing out” the issues.

“People can still come to the border and show their driver’s licence and they’ll be processed through,” she said.

“Our police have done a remarkable job.”

Supt Wheeler said police were working to fix the technical glitch.

“The IT issues are unfortunate... but the issues will be ironed out.”

Police and health authorities are urging those wanting to travel between the extended travel bubble to complete a border declaration pass, and update it every seven days.

Motorists also need to carry proof of address with them as they travel, such as a driver’s licence or a power bill.

According to Today, police have this morning pulled over a number of cars with the wrong border declaration pass, advising motorists that no matter where they live everyone needs an updated pass.

It comes amid confusion over which border pass motorists need to enter into Queensland, with police already being forced to pull cars aside for wrong passes.

Supt Wheeler said from Coolangatta this morning he would talk to Queensland Health about rewording the Queensland Border Declaration Pass (Border Zone Resident).

All motorists travelling into Queensland from northern NSW will need the X-pass, not the G-pass.

Supt Wheeler said between 1am and 6am on Thursday, police had processed “several hundred vehicles” and had already turned around 30 cars.

Pictures from the M1 border checkpoint at 7am show cars banked up in long lines.

“This is our 15th iteration of border restriction changes, so the public have gotten used to it,” Supt Wheeler said.

“We have certainly gotten used to dealing with the changes and I just ask for people to be patient and plant their journey accordingly.

“This is about stopping COVID-19 coming into Queensland.

“Of course we will see some line-ups that will probably extend hundreds of metres down the road … at the moment we are seeing some delays to about 30 minutes and that is understandable.”

A Queensland Police Services spokesman said eased border restrictions were limited to NSW border zone residents who have not travelled to a COVID-19 hotspot in the last 14 days.

“Providing false information on the declaration or entering Queensland unlawfully could result in a $4003 fine or a notice to appear in court,” the spokesman said.

Pressure is mounting on Queensland to open to the rest of the state, although Ms Palaszczuk said she would stand firm by the chief health officer’s 28-day rule.

“We have clearly said we want to see a position where all of Australia can open up, but not until it is safe to do so,” she said.

“The advice of Dr Young is no community transmission for 28 days. That’s the advice of the AHPPC, a proposal that was not adopted by National Cabinet.

“It’s a pity we can’t have uniformity across the nation. But we will always take Dr Young’s advice.”

Overnight, ADF troops have been withdrawn from the border checkpoints. The Queensland Police have installed an extra 15 officers to assist, however the Gold Coast’s top cop had warned of lengthy delays ahead of the changes.

“We’ll spread (our officers) across a number of checkpoints,” Supt Wheeler said on Tuesday.

“We monitor it on an hourly basis and if we need to move police across to a busier one we will.”

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan pleaded for families to remain tolerant and calm as police check each car one by one.

“You can have a hundred police on the border and it won‘t necessarily speed things up,” he said.

“Because what we do is get the traffic flow down to one lane. So there is a certain capacity of cars you can process at any one time.”

It comes as Queensland winds back restrictions on outdoor gatherings and dining, easing hospitality patronage limits from person per 4 sqm outside to one per 2 sqm.

In addition to the doubling of capacity at Queensland’s cafes, pubs, restaurants and bars with outdoor seating, restrictions have also been eased at theme parks and outdoor events like school fetes.

Up to 1000 people will now be permitted to gather at those events.

Queensland marked it’s third day in a row of no new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. It’s been three weeks since any known cases were in the community.

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2020-10-01 00:26:44Z
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