A dangerous Ukraine border-like situation surfaced at last Saturday's meeting of the Magnetic Island Residents and Ratepayers Association , MIRRA for short . It wasn't because there were obvious opposing members of the ALP and Coalition present in the same room .
Phillip Thompson , OAM, Liberal MHR for Herbert , was the guest speaker and John Ring , the ALP candidate for the electorate, both from Townsville, came over by ferry.
The meeting , attended by about 70 people , in the RSL Club , got into hot ,possibly infectious waters at the start when the chairman declared all were welcome , masked or unmasked, vaccinated or not .
Mention was also made of the mask mandate on the " bloody ferry " service to the island.
In the gathering was a person who intended asking Thompson about the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the treatment of locals who had supported the troops for 20 years
However, he remarked that the chairman's welcome was inappropriate, against Queensland Health mandates , diplomatically left the meeting .
He was of the opinion that the enforcement of the mask mandate on both the ferry and the barge since the relaxation of the border restrictions had been instrumental in keeping Covid-19 numbers low on the island - a subject not covered properly by the mainland media .
If the companies did not follow the policy and their crews became infected, there would be no "bloody ferries ." People complaining about the rules would not be able to go to "bloody work. "
About 15 people at the meeting did not wear masks ; the checking of the QR app did not appear to be strictly adhered to as people entered the RSL.
Some islanders did not attend because of concern about gatherings where COVID could be spread.
MIRRA claims it acts in matters of concern to the lifestyle and livelihood of its members, is strictly non-political and impartial.
