Minister for Defence Peter Dutton has accused Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of “treating people like mugs” when asked if he thinks she is delaying a lockdown for the sake of the NRL Grand Final.
The game is set to go ahead on Sunday despite fresh cases in the state.
Mr Dutton pointed toward those suffering under Queensland’s strict border controls, with some residents unable to return home or reunite with families.
“There is a lot of cynicism out there Karl and understandably so,” Mr Dutton told Today.
“Everyone wishes the Premier well in her decision making but there have been a lot of decisions at odds with common sense.
“When they’re turning people away from funerals and not allowing kids to repatriate with their parents across the border, and we have businesses going broke, people starved from seeing families and loved ones, and then we see the Premier holding on because of the NRL grand final on Sunday, I think that rubs people up the wrong way.
All of us are NRL fans and want to see it go ahead, but the health of people in Queensland is paramount and I don’t think the Premier should be treating us like mugs.”
