Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson comes out against quarantine plan, says he wasn't consulted

The state politician said he has not even been consulted on the idea by Tamworth Regional Council, or proponent Barnaby Joyce.

"My priority is the safety of our local community," he said.

"Everyone wants a quarantine system that is robust and effective. I believe this proposal is too great a risk for our community."

His comments come briefly after three of nine Tamworth Regional Councillors told the Leader they either opposed the idea or were very sceptical and would need to be convinced.

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State and Federal Health Ministers contacted this week by the Leader either did not comment, or did not answer basic questions about the proposed project.

Rural Health Minister Mark Coulton did not want to comment about the idea.

Deputy premier John Barilaro and state health minister Brad Hazzard did not respond to a Monday media inquiry.

A spokesperson for federal health minister Greg Hunt did not answer a series of questions about the proposal, including: whether the federal government is genuinely considering the idea; how it could be maintained; who would staff it; whether local health services would be bolstered in light of the risk of outbreak; and if government is considering other locations.

"Mandatory quarantine measures are continually assessed by the Australian Health Protection Principle Committee," the spokesperson said.

"Each state and territory is responsible for managing the COVID-19 response under its own public health legislation, including quarantine."

Mr Anderson said there had been "discussions" regarding the possibility of hospital quarantining returned travellers in Tamworth.

"While the NSW response to Covid-19 is enviable, I have grave concerns about any proposal that would put our regional community at unnecessary risk," he said.

A Change.org petition against the idea has 747 signatures as of time of printing.

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The Premier on Friday said the state government was not considering any changes to the Sydney-based hotel quarantine system, but that state and federal governments were in discussion about a Commonwealth one.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian pointed to the "Warriors model" of one-off regional quarantining for a potential "opportunity" for the city to make a contribution to clearing the hotel quarantine backlog.

Councillor Rodda pointed out that Tamworth's hospital wasn't on the list of 11 facilities that would be the first to receive the vaccine to be distributed to frontline medical staff

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"I don't believe ... we have the medical facilities and staff to be able to handle an outbreak if there was one," he said, on Tuesday.

"I'm sure that we've got the medical staff to deal with an individual case, but you see how quickly it spreads. I just think it's too much of a risk to put our residents at risk for a proposal just to fill a few beds at the flight centre."

The idea of using the Tamworth Flight Training Centre was first raised with the Leader by Member for New England Barnaby Joyce last week.

"We don't have to build [a quarantine site] when we have one here, and it's far enough out of town that's its perfectly sited," he said.

"On my part I'm trying to make Tamworth part of the solution, give us an income stream ... this would be us doing our bit."

Tamworth mayor Col Murray is also a supporter of the concept.

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