CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The Prime Minister has made some powerful enemies in Toowoomba today for suggesting the city is too far away from the Queensland capital and lacked sufficient resources to host a quarantine hub that could bring thousands of jobs to the region.
In a plan handed to the Queensland government in January, different business figures and local politicians from Toowoomba proposed a 1,000-room quarantine facility at its Wellcamp airport, including extra rooms for staff, COVID-19 testing facilities, fencing and security cameras.
The state government then asked the Prime Minister to say whether he supports the idea or not, because you know, quarantine is a Federal responsibility according to the constitution, even though it has been shifted onto the Premiers and the CBD hotel sector for the last twelve months.
However, this week, Scott Morrison has slapped down a proposal for a quarantine facility at Wellcamp Airport near Toowoomba, saying it was not “stacking up” because it was not near a capital city with a major hospital.
Less than an hour from Brisbane in good traffic, and with a new airport that is capable of accomodating any number of international flights, the Prime Minister has ruled that Toowoomba is just too remote.
“The idea that you can just put these out in the desert somewhere” Mr Morrison said on Monday, before immediately backpedalling.
Questions are now swirling around the Darling Downs about whether or not the Prime Minister has simply said no to this proposal because a certain media commentator, who tried his hardest to stop that airport from being built before being sued to fuck by local business figures, has simply told his little Hillsong lackey to not let Toowoomba make another dollar.
The Betoota Advocate hit the streets to find out what the mood is in T-Bar now that the PM has let this no-brainer proposal go through to the keeper.
“Fuck” said one local builder, Shane Coorey.
“We were shovel ready for this one”
“Oh well, Scotty makes a good point that Australia’s second biggest inland city behind Canberra is too isolated and unsophisticated to help our country avoid constant snap lockdowns due to hotel breaches”
“Lucky we found some opals on the range”
“These colourful rocks are gonna be a great boost for our small desert economy!”
