Vote on Public Health and Other Legislation (Extension of Expiring Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022
Last week in Parliament I joined with my LNP Opposition colleagues to vote against the Public Health and Other Legislation (Extension of Expiring Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022.
Unfortunately, my opportunity to speak on this Bill in the Parliament was denied by the Labor Government when they guillotined debate early.
However, I was able to make a shorter statement during the Adjournment period in order to express my thoughts on this issue – (video available at https://www.facebook.com/DebFrecklingtonMP/videos/1091697541674853)
Importantly, I would like to thank the health care workers who have been at the frontline during the COVID pandemic. I also acknowledge that COVID has impacted many people in many different ways. There are those who have lost loved ones, those who are struggling with the effects of long-COVID and those who have had less serious symptoms and recovered quickly.
But COVID has also affected more than just our physical health. It has affected businesses, our children’s education, our ability to see our loved ones in aged care, mental health and so much more. Significantly, it has also taken away people’s livelihoods and caused significant disruption and upheaval to all our lives.
In relation to the extension of these emergency powers however, people are telling me that enough is enough. Queenslander’s have demonstrated an extraordinary level of trust in government - giving up their basic rights and freedoms to control the spread of COVID-19.
However, the LNP Opposition believes that in a democracy such as ours, these types of powers should not be in place any longer than necessary.
We now have more than 90% of our state’s adult population double vaccinated. The Labor Government said they would review restrictions when we reached 90%. But instead we have a Government that just sits on its hands.
These are extraordinary times, but we must question why the Labor Government continues to need this extraordinary power when there is little to no oversight.
Video: https://www.facebook.com/DebFrecklingtonMP/videos/1091697541674853
