Queensland’s police minister and police commissioner have criticised the former head of the Australian Christian Lobby, Lyle Shelton, for diverting resources by tweeting about a “sneaky run” across the New South Wales border.
Shelton posted on Twitter about a “sneaky run across the border and back” on Saturday night, boasting that he had avoided the “CCP [Chinese Communist party] virus police”.
Border declaration passes are needed for travellers to Queensland who have visited NSW since 11 December after recent coronavirus cases in Sydney.
Queensland’s border is also closed to anyone who has been in the Covid-declared hotspots of greater Sydney and surrounding areas in the past 14 days.
The police minister, Mark Ryan, said Shelton had potentially created confusion about what was allowed on the border.
“Not only does it divert police resources, but it also creates a sense of confusion in the community around certain actions,” he said.
“There’s a saying here: it’s better for people to think you’re an idiot than to open your mouth and confirm it.”
After Queensland police on Sunday said it was making enquiries into Shelton’s movements, he said on Twitter he was happy to explain his run along the coast from Coolangatta to the Tweed.
“There were no checkpoints for joggers, walkers or lizards,” he said.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said Shelton’s tweet was “disappointing” and described his actions as a poor attempt at humour.
“He can cross the border, I understand he has a G-pass, so it was just a funny tweet, which in the end is not really that funny,” she said on Monday.
“We want people to freely move, do their exercise, do the right thing and not brag about it on Twitter.
“He has been spoken to, he thought it was funny, but it’s not. You’re just taking away resources from other places.”
