'Inconsistent' Qld Chief Health Officer 'condones an 80-person funeral'

Queensland Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander says the Queensland Government’s decision to permit 80 people to gather for the funeral of a significant indigenous elder is “inconsistent, it’s not equal treatment of Australians… and it’s plain wrong”. On Thursday, the Queensland's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young granted a special exemption to the government's isolation restrictions, allowing up to 80 people to attend the funeral of an indigenous elder in Mackay. The Federal Government has enforced a strict 10-person limit at funerals as part of the new social isolation rules. Mr Mander said “here we have an example not of a couple of extra people but of 70 extra people at a time when the messaging is that we have to do the right thing and socially isolate”. “On this particular case the message has also been that our indigenous communities are incredibly vulnerable”. This decision “flies in the face of every message we have been given,” he told Sky news host Peta Credlin.