Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s claim that he bullied her in a phone call in which he asked her to allow a grieving daughter and Queensland resident to return to the state for her father’s funeral.
“I don’t really care what they say about me,” Mr Morrison said on Sky News last night.
“It’s not about me. It’s not about her. It was about Sarah [Caisip]. It was about Isobel. It was about Myrna. And it was about Bernard [Sarah’s father]. That’s the only stuff that mattered today.”
The Prime Minister said his call to Ms Palaszcauk was “not about Queensland’s borders”.
“It wasn’t about whether they should be up or down. It wasn’t even about jobs. And jobs are incredibly important, as you know.
“But this was just one day I had hoped that something different could be done.”
Mr Morrison said the Queensland Premier needed to find a better way to deal with special exemptions for her state’s borders amid current public health restrictions.
“Today just hurt,” he said.
“Thos who have decided these measures are necessary, they’ve got to find a better way to deal with the heart here.
“I’ve dealt with many Premiers on many different issues all the time. I’ve dealt with the Queensland Premier on other issues. Sadly, [yesterday] I didn’t have the influence that I would hope to have.”
“So Sarah doesn’t get today back. She never gets it back. And that just fills my heart with sadness.”
Sarah Caisip (pictured, far left, with her father, sister and mother) was denied a quarantine exemption from the Queensland government to attend her father, Bernards’ funeral in Brisbane yesterday. Instead she was permitted, under guard, to view his body following the ceremony.
Mr Morrison said he had spoken with the Queensland Premier about 40 similar cases to no avail and was “astounded” with the decision made regarding Ms Caisip.
Ms Caisip is a registered nurse based in Canberra, a territory that has not had a case of COVID-19 for more than 60 days.
