Local councils out of pocket over Queensland border closures

December 2, 2020

The Palaszczuk Queensland Government has delivered yet another blow to rural communities by leaving border councils hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket on border checkpoint infrastructure.

Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said the Queensland Government has abandoned local councils to pick up the tab on their arbitrary border closures.

“Hundreds of thousands of dollars in infrastructure expenses were paid for by local councils, but now the Queensland Government is refusing to pay it back.

“This is just another blow to rural communities that have already suffered under Queensland’s hard border closures which disrupted business, shut the door to agricultural

movement and restricted access to essential services for residents.

“Out of sheer desperation, local councils came to the rescue by providing infrastructure to make border crossings as smooth as possible for their residents, and now they’re paying the price for the closure.

“Rural councils are already under pressure from the pandemic, last summer’s bushfires, and years of ongoing drought, and the last thing they need is another unpaid bill.

“The Queensland Premier needs to come to the table and repay these Councils what they are owed.”