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General News

27 May, 2020

Pauline Hanson threatens state government with high court

Pauline Hanson is threatening the Queensland state government with a legal challenge to reopen domestic borders.

By Phil Brandel

Pauline Hanson threatens state government with high court - feature photo

Pauline Hanson is threatening the Queensland state government with a legal challenge to reopen domestic borders.

She says she has enlisted a "top lawyer" and hopes to fundraise $1 million to cover the legal bills.

Ms Hanson demanded that the state government reopen the state's borders by Thursday, or face legal action in the High Court.

It’s believed that One Nation sent a letter to Ms Palaszczuk on Tuesday telling her she has until Thursday to respond and accusing Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of "destroying people's lives and livelihoods" and that the border closures were unconstitutional.

"Because the border ban is invalid, we request that you undertake to revoke the Border Ban by 4pm on 28 May 2020," the letter says.

Last week Pauline Hanson posted on Facebook that she had engaged a pro-bono constitutional lawyer who was willing to represent Queenslanders whose business had been impacted in a High Court challenge.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk must abide by the Australian constitution and do the right thing by Queenslanders,” she wrote on Facebook.

“Her actions are causing me a great deal of concern for the economic viability of our state.

“There is no cure or vaccine for the coronavirus, and until there is, all states and territories must learn to live with the virus.”

Senator Hanson has said that if her request is ignored, a challenge to the closures will be filed in the High Court by the end of the week.

The State Government has dismissed the legal threat, saying it has to balance the timing of the reopening of the borders with medical advice, with Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young backing in the Premier.

Dr Young has said that the borders may remain closed beyond September and said businesses should realistically be planning for the closure to last four more months.

“If the tourist industry wants a realistic scenario then they should be preparing for September but I say to them, that if everything went perfectly and it was possible that maybe it could happen earlier, wouldn’t they also want to be prepared for that?’’ she said.

 

 

 

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