August 20, 2020

 

Government denies Australia's Queensland border exemption permits

 

The local government of Australia refuses to grant exemption permits for essential agricultural work, stated their Victorian owners, Queensland Country Life reported.

 

Hence, the welfare of 300 cattle in remote south western Queensland is being compromised .

 

John and Michelle Leishman are among the thousands of landholders and workers involved in Australia's primary production supply chain who have been adversely impacted by state border closures.

 

As well as operating a mixed cropping/sheep farm north west of Ballarat in central Victoria, the couple own a 38,445 ha cattle station north of Cunnamulla.

 

The remoteness of the Queensland property and the nature of the work involved has seen them unable to recruit a caretaker for the past 12 months and so they have been commuting between Victoria and Queensland on a bi-monthly basis to care for their stock.

 

They originally had a permit to make the 2,600-km two-way commute with their working dog to attend to water and fodder needs.

 

Anticipating the need to prepare for the ramifications of Victoria's fresh lockdown, they applied to the Queensland government on July 1 for an exemption to quarantine in a Brisbane hotel, whenever they came to the state.

 

"This application was first viewed on July 22, denying our exemption from mandatory quarantine," she said. "We further applied for exceptional circumstances and have been advised our file is now closed."

 

This was despite the couple explaining that the artesian water points their cattle relied on required their constant attention.

 

"Due to the pressure of artesian water, our pipes constantly burst and leak, resulting in the watering points failing.

 

"Fodder for our cattle is manageable at present but from September, feed will run low and we must feed manually.

 

"Cattle mustering is due in November and we are very worried about animal welfare and biosecurity issues."

 

They are unable to remain in Queensland once they arrive because their canola and wheat harvest is due to start in Victoria, along with shearing.

 

In recent weeks they have relied on a neighbour to help out on the Queensland property but Leishman said there was a limit to the favours they could ask fellow property owners for.

 

They told Queensland Health that self-isolating at their Wyandra property was reasonable due to its extreme isolation, and would expose them to less risk than mandated Brisbane hotel quarantine.

 

As well as buying the food they'd need for their stay before they left and driving straight to the property, the Leishmans told Queensland Health they would undertake a COVID-19 test before they left, and would provide a statutory declaration to that effect.

 

The federal government on Friday pressed the states to be more flexible with their border closures for regional communities, who are bearing the brunt of the impacts.