get me outta here
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2011
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It did occur to me that the introduction of charging people for their quarantine could encourage risky behaviour from those prone to being risky and pushing boundaries, so to speak.
Without expressing any sympathy for this position, more talking about motivations as an intellectual issue, the transfer of the cost of quarantine to individuals is likely to drive more of this type of behaviour which might be aimed at avoiding a heavy personal cost. Asking individuals to pay for quarantine costs individually/personally for what is really a public benefit (keeping COVID out of the community) is the effect of this recent change and many people will just not think that's a good use of their money.
And it's not even the case always (although it might well have been for the Qld 2) that people knew what they were in for when they left home. The way borders have slammed shut, new hot spots have been added etc with very little notice, it is entirely possible that people planned their travel according to the rules at the time and then found themselves caught out by short notice changes. If you had a couple of families or groups of friends travelling, the financial incentive (for those inclined not to respect others or the rules, no matter what the personal cost) to take steps to avoid quarantine is pretty strong. Further, people trying to do the right thing and get home before border closures (both internationally and now domestically) have been hit with massive costs for expensive flights. Just remember it was only a couple of weeks back that we were all being encouraged to holiday at home...
I don't have the answers, just questions and random thoughts, but it seems to me that it is never a good idea to "punish" people financially when you want them to do something that has more benefit for the community than for them personally. YMMV.