- by foxnews
- 28 Nov 2024
Scott Morrison has travelled to Queensland despite being identified as a casual contact of a person with Covid-19 after his attendance at a Sydney high school graduation.
Morrison and a person with Covid-19 were among about 1,000 attendees of the Kincoppal-Rose Bay graduation gala at the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour on Friday.
A spokesperson for the prime minister confirmed he was deemed a casual contact by New South Wales authorities on Tuesday night but he has returned two negative PCR tests since the event.
On Wednesday morning Morrison confirmed his trip to Queensland because Queensland authorities confirmed it was safe to travel.
Queensland is a key election battleground but has been difficult to access because of border restrictions during the pandemic, with Labor leader Anthony Albanese racking up more trips to the sunshine state so far than the prime minister.
Morrison has had a busy schedule since the Friday event, including a joint press conference with the South Korean president Moon Jai-in on Monday and dinner with him on Tuesday; and the announcement of mRNA manufacturing in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Morrison was asked about two plane loads of people in Queensland being forced into quarantine for 14 days. He replied it was a matter for the Queensland government but hoped allowing travellers out by Christmas would be a priority.
Queensland later relaxed the ruling, reclassifying many on the flight as casual contacts, unless they were sitting in close contact with infected passengers.
On Wednesday, Morrison announced that the government will set up an online safety youth advisory committee to assist the eSafety Commissioner with issues of online privacy and bullying.
Morrison also announced a reduced interest rate in the pension loan scheme to enable people of pension age to draw on the equity in their home to fund their retirement.
On Wednesday Albanese will campaign in Braddon, one of two Tasmanian seats Labor hopes to pick up at the 2022 election.
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