Queensland police have intercepted more than 43,000 vehicles and turned away 1,143 at the border with New South Wales, warning motorists there will be no return to free-flowing traffic for months as Covid-19 hotspots break out across the country.
A 700-metre border wall has been erected at Coolangatta after motorists were spotted driving around plastic barriers and crossing a grass embankment to illegally enter Queensland. The barricade, running almost the length of Dixon Street, was put up by the Gold Coast city council.
The Queensland police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, said officers were working hard to improve the flow of traffic but delays were inevitable.
“It is taking considerable time to get through the borders,” she said on Friday. “So please, please plan for that and be patient.
“It’s not normal times. It is Covid. And this will continue to be the case for many, many, many more months to come.”
The delays have led to frustrations, with drivers stuck in traffic for hours at a time reportedly trying to sneak into the Sunshine State on foot or by using backroads.
On Friday many residents of the region seemed resigned to the delays. Michelle, who runs a small party planning business in New South Wales and declined to give her full name, frequently crosses the border for work.
“It is what it is,” she told Guardian Australia. “Some people are going crazy about it, playing the blame game. But the authorities are trying to warn us. There’s a website where you can look everything up.”
Jim Wilson, a solicitor who works in Tweed Heads and lives in Queensland, has been parking on one side of the border in a spot rented from a motel and crossing on foot. He said the inconvenience was worth the result.
“We haven’t got Covid here. The Gold Coast and the Tweed run together, it’s the biggest cross border region in Australia and the authorities … have kept us Covid-free,” he said.
He acknowledged that it has been difficult for local businesses, but said: “Whilst it’s awfully painful in the short term, I’m sure it’s going to benefit us as a tourism destination and as a place to live in the long term … I’ve not met anybody who is up in arms about it. We’re clear, we haven’t got any relatives or people in hospital!”
Tweed Heads resident Joshua, who was waiting for a bus at the border between NSW and Queensland, said the reopening of the borders had resulted in greater delays.
“It wasn’t so bad when the first lot came in … it was easy. It flowed smoother. But now that they’ve got the new ones in, the traffic to get a bus,” he pauses, gesturing to a line of cars queued at the border. “I was waiting for a bus in to Coolangatta … three hours for a bus. It’s made people’s lives a lot more difficult.”
Since 3 July, more than 600,000 applications have been downloaded for border passes into Queensland.
“That tells you the volume of people we are trying to deal with,” said a deputy commissioner, Steve Gollschewski. “This is not a simple issue …
“We’re going to continue to keep the community safe. That’s the whole purpose of this.”
Police have also met 379 flights arriving in Queensland, including 17 from Victoria, processing more than 30,000 people through the state’s airports.
