A row is brewing over whether Queensland opens its borders in time for Christmas, and Australian families desperate to be together could be caught in the middle.
Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said it would be "a step backwards" if Queensland keeps its borders closed over Christmas, instead insisting fully vaccinated families should soon be allowed to move freely across Australia.
But whether Queensland allows interstate travel for Christmas and the festive season remains a serious doubt.
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Queensland's Deputy Premier Steven Miles has criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrison for giving people what he says is false hope about the state opening its borders in time for Christmas.
Queensland is forecast to hit 80 per cent of the eligible population fully vaccinated by early December, but Mr Miles said Queenslanders did not want "Delta for Christmas."
That view will deflate the hopes of many struggling Queensland tourism operators hoping for a needed summer boost.
"Families who are fully-vaccinated, with vaccinated over 12s and unvaccinated under 12s, should not be prevented from crossing any state border this Christmas," Dr Coatsworth told Today.
"That's my firm view and I think that is a reasonable thing to do for Australians.
"It is not 2020 anymore, it is 2021."
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Speaking on Today, federal minister David Littleproud accused Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk of reneging on a National Cabinet deal on border openings.
"The Prime Minister established the National Cabinet and put in place the National Plan that Annastacia Palaszczuk sat in the room and agreed to," Mr Littleproud said.
"The reality is they've reneged on that and I suspect they'll continue to walk this line for some time to come, sadly.
"This is destroying our tourism industry up here."
Mr Littleproud said the Gold Coast economy will lose $1 billion this quarter because of border closures.
The esplanade in Cairns was "a ghost town", when Mr Littleproud visited earlier the North Queensland tourist town earlier this month.
Mr Littleproud acknowledged Ms Palaszczuk "has done a good job" keeping Queenslanders safe during the pandemic so far but he argued the time was coming to open up.
"What we need is confidence and certainty."
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