Queensland’s LNP has deleted a social media video using a selection of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s responses to fears about people needing to pay for COVID-19 tests to enter the state, after a complaint that it breached parliamentary rules.
The removal of the video, which took a segment of Ms Palaszczuk’s Question Time response to concerns that travellers would have to pay $150 for PCR tests, meant Labor MP Don Brown’s complaint was ultimately dismissed by Speaker Curtis Pitt this week.
The now-deleted video was published on LNP leader David Crisafulli’s Facebook page and the LNP’s Twitter account.Credit:Matt Dennien
A lack of clarity around the requirements for those hoping to enter the state from hotspots arose this month amid a feud between the Queensland and federal governments and accusations that the Morrison government was running a “backgrounding campaign”.
On Friday, after confirmation from both governments that SMS test results sent to people under the standard free national testing regime would be accepted, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath apologised for the confusion.
During the last parliamentary sitting week, LNP Deputy Leader David Janetzki also asked why the Palaszczuk government would not “cover the cost” of the test for those who had been stuck outside Queensland for months.
Ms Palaszczuk said it was her understanding the requirements were the same as those in some other states, and that her government wanted to keep Queenslanders safe. She then went on to talk about the border reopening roadmap, and said she also took such tests on her return from the Tokyo Olympics.
Amid a series of interjections, Ms Palaszczuk was said to have not paid for that test, to which she responded that it was for work reasons, before talking further about the state’s vaccine rollout.
The now-deleted video, which used parliamentary footage and was clipped to show the initial question and only a portion of Ms Palaszczuk’s response, was then published on LNP leader David Crisafulli’s Facebook page and later on the LNP’s Twitter account.
LNP pulls Palaszczuk mash-up video from Facebook after Labor complaint
Source: Philippines Alive
