Annastacia Palaszczuk has stood by her drastic Covid lockdowns regardless of households being separated from dying family members due to them.
The previous Queensland premier will lead a panel dialogue round Australia’s response to Covid on 7News Highlight at 8.45pm on Sunday evening.
Ms Palaszczuk mentioned the selections weren’t made calmly and that she would go dwelling each evening and query whether or not she had accomplished the best factor.
‘Not all the things was proper, not all the things was excellent, however we acquired by way of it,’ she mentioned.
Regardless of dealing with widespread criticism on the time, Ms Palaszczuk stood by her resolution to implement harsh lockdown measures and shut the state borders.
The measure drastically impacted households who had been unable to say goodbye to their dying family.
‘It was very troublesome on the time, however the outcomes for Queensland in the long run, I do stand by it, however I do acknowledge it was very troublesome and exhausting for households,’ she mentioned.
‘The tip outcome was we solely had tragically seven deaths throughout that complete interval of that two years earlier than we opened up our borders, so I feel the outcomes present that it did work.’
Ms Palaszczuk averted commenting on what she may have accomplished higher or whether or not she would make the identical selections in the present day.
Annastacia Palaszczuk has spoken out concerning the backlash she obtained for separating dying households from one another throughout Covid
As an alternative, she targeted on the teachings discovered throughout the pandemic, saying they wanted higher entry to vaccines and masks.
‘We did not have the masks and all the things else that was wanted so, we even have home manufacturing, however we even have, I consider, a stronger economic system that is come out of it,’ she mentioned.
‘For me within the grips of that early time, that early phases once we first heard about this virus, I did not know, I could not see the sunshine on the finish of the tunnel, however we acquired there, and we acquired there as a nation.’
Highlight host Michael Usher mentioned the section would look again at ‘what our leaders and consultants did proper and mistaken throughout the Covid pandemic’.
‘We discovered it is nonetheless a really emotional difficulty to debate. It is a very sincere debate,’ he mentioned.
‘Some won’t ever be pleased with Australia’s pandemic response, some suppose we did the best issues for the better good, and we discovered now’s the best time to debate how some folks had been failed.’
The previous Queensland Premier enforced a few of the hardest restriction within the nation, and has since admitted that a few of these selections have weighed on her thoughts
Throughout that pandemic, Ms Palaszczuk’s strict restrictions had been unpopular with many Australians.
She closed the Queensland border to Sydney and Victorian residents for 250 days in 2020, earlier than slamming it shut on one other two events.
Mark Kilian was amongst those that lashed out on the former premier for her lack of compassion after he was refused a quarantine exemption to see his 80-year-old father who was dying of pancreatic most cancers in a hospital on the Gold Coast.
After the passing of his personal mom, former Labor chief Invoice Shorten urged Ms Palaszczuk should train compassion.
When the borders did reopen, folks weren’t so complimentary, with many stating that households had been separated, Queenslanders could not come dwelling and companies had been destroyed.
The episode ‘After Covid’ airs at 8.45pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
