Katter’s Australian Party Deputy Leader and Member for Hinchinbrook, Nick Dametto, has said the Queensland State Government’s border permit system is a costly bureaucratic boondoggle which is diverting policing resources away from fighting the rising wave of crime in north Queensland.

A new border permit system, whereby interstate travellers to Queensland are required to complete and submit an online declaration that they’ve tested negative to COVID-19 and are fully vaccinated, was introduced in the new year.

Travellers from interstate have their permits checked by Queensland Police Services personnel as they pass through a point of entry, such as an airport or land border.

Mr Dametto’s call to scrap the system follows reporting that the Queensland Police Service in Townsville has run out of funding for a specialized unit charged with undertaking bail compliance checks, duties of which are now assigned to already over-stretched beat cops.

In subsequent days, it has been revealed that Townsville QPS is down a further 12 members due to COVID leave. [1]

“Highly trained, uniformed QPS officers are stationed behind a fold-up table at Townsville airport and at airports all over Queensland waving over travellers to check they have ticked a few boxes in an online form,” Mr Dametto said.

“Meanwhile, we have bail offenders running free in town because we don’t have the police resources to effectively monitor them,” Mr Dametto said.

Mr Dametto said the border permit system as it applies to air arrivals serves no purpose because anyone could simply walk by the QPS folding table checkpoint, collect their bags and go on their way.

“The permit system is essentially an honour system with no real way of monitoring whether anyone is complying with it,” Mr Dametto said.

“Despite that, the Queensland State Government is tying up critical QPS resources which otherwise would be out on the street catching offenders,” Mr Dametto said.

“The only thing the border permit system does is permit crime,” Mr Dametto said.

“It’s time we accepted that COVID is here to stay, but we don’t have to accept the level of crime in our communities,” Mr Dametto said.

“The Queensland State government is wasting time and resources on measures, such as the border permit system and vaccine mandates, which they have no way of effectively, or consistently, policing,” Mr Dametto said, noting reports of the absence of patrols on the
NT/Queensland border.

“It’s time for the government to stop putting up sham policies that have zero practical impact, but which, in the present case, are sapping the ability of the police to address the crime issues in Townsville and across regional Queensland,” Mr Dametto said.

https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-townsville/three-nq-police-officers-test-positive-to-covid19-several-more-in-isolation/news-story/d7cd002090c4042ea4df3b14b25b7122