The Queensland Government has provided Canberra with specifications for a 1000-bed quarantine facility near Brisbane Airport.
The Commonwealth last month offered land currently occupied by the Damascus Barracks at Pinkenba for a hub, but the state has been pushing for an alternative site at Wellcamp Airport near Toowoomba.
But three days after convincing national cabinet to halve international arrivals due to leaks of the Delta variant of COVID-19 from hotel quarantine, Queensland is reconsidering the Pinkenba project.
The state wants a Brisbane facility to have 1000 rooms, initially able to host 800 people per fortnight and eventually rising to 1450.
Queensland has provided specifications to the Federal Government but it is understood the Commonwealth still needs to conduct a feasibility study on its land, and provide the funding.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will continue to push for the 1000-bed Wellcamp facility, which together with arrangements at Pinkenba, would allow the state to double its intake of returned travellers.
“Since September, I’ve argued that we need an alternative to hotel quarantine,” Ms Palaszczuk said Monday.
“It was great to see that finally the prime minister is starting to listen.
“We’ve worked around the clock with the federal government on this proposal.
“A fit-for-purpose facility at Pinkenba working in conjunction with another quarantine facility in regional Queensland could be a game-changer in keeping coronavirus out of our community in the future.”
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The Wellcamp facility was first proposed by the Wagner Corporation in January, but the state and federal government have since been at loggerheads over the plan.
It is understood the site near Wellcamp airport does not meet Commonwealth expectations because it is about 150km from an international airport and existing hotel quarantine venues.
If international flights were allowed to land there, the Commonwealth would have to fund and staff airport firefighting services, international passenger screening and customs.
Meanwhile, Queensland authorities are increasingly optimistic they have the upper hand on two COVID-19 variants after reporting few new locally acquired cases on Sunday.
All parts of Queensland are now out of lockdown after cases of the highly contagious Delta strain, and the Alpha strain, were detected in the state’s south-east.
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