'Only for our people': Queensland's premier is blasted for her 'astonishing' comments after a new mum nearly lost her unborn twins because she was forced to fly from the border to Sydney for emergency surgery

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Annastacia Palaszczuk has been slammed for saying Queensland hospitals were 'for our people only' - after a woman pregnant with twins in far northern NSW was forced to fly all the way to Sydney for emergency surgery. 

The premier made the controversial comment on Tuesday when she was asked about the women, who lived in Ballina, 88km from the Queensland border, who was told she was unlikely to be given an exemption to pass into the state.

She was forced to wait 16 critical hours to go to a Sydney hospital, despite her unborn twins, who were just 24 weeks along, needing urgent care. 

Ms Palaszczuk said she while she was not aware of the specifics of the case. the decision about who to let into Queensland would be made by health professionals, not politicians.

'People living in NSW they have NSW hospitals. In Queensland we have Queensland hospitals for our people,' she said.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard called Ms Palaszczuk's comments 'astonishing'.   

Baby Harvey was airlifted to Brisbane not long after he was born on Friday (pictured with parents Glen and Chantelle Northfield following the birth)

He urged her to  review her border arrangements to 'ensure patients receive the health care they need'. 

He said there were patients in northern NSW in need of renal transplants who were being denied access to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. 

Those patients were being forced to drive themselves '12 or more hours to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney', he said. 

Allan Watt, the father of the Ballina mum, told 9News the unborn twins needed the emergency treatment after being diagnosed with a rare illness at just 24 weeks old.

Instead of being treated in a nearby Brisbane hospital, his daughter were forced to wait 16 hours to be transported to Sydney after being told they were unlikely to be allowed into hospital. 

'She could have lost those babies in the time she was waiting,' Mr Watt said.

'The Queensland government is treating people that are in dire need like they are lepers.' 

Chantelle Northfield (pictured) has to undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine before she can be by her newborn's bedside in Brisbane

Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) has been slammed for saying Queensland hospitals were 'for our people only' after a mother was denied access to the state to visit her sick newborn

Another young mother was also left heartbroken as she was separated from her newborn son due to the draconian border restrictions. 

Chantelle Northfield, from Casino in northern New South Wales, welcomed her second son Harvey at nearby Lismore Base Hospital last Friday.

Little Harvey had difficulty breathing and was airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital for lifesaving treatment.

But his terrified mother was unable to be at her newborn's bedside as she would need to quarantine for 14 days first.

'Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the Queensland border, Glen and I were refused entry to the hospital until after 14 days mandatory quarantine in a hotel,' Ms Northfield wrote in a gut-wrenching Facebook post.

Motorists are seen approaching a checkpoint at Coolangatta on the Queensland- New South Wales border earlier this month

Motorists are stopped at a checkpoint at Coolangatta on the Queensland- New South Wales border earlier this month

'We would of been more than willing to do that if there was a guarantee that Harvey would be there for that long but no one is 100 per cent sure and the second he no longer needs such extensive treatment he will be flown back to Lismore.'

Ms Northfield was willing to take a coronavirus test but still wouldn't be able to be with Harvey even if the result came back negative. 

'We have tried our absolute hardest to get there, and the workers for the hospital tried as well, it was just one person from higher up that refused our entry. 

'The best we get is FaceTime for now.' 

Ms Palaszczuk has come under fire for her staunch approach to the border closure, earning her the nickname 'Comrade Anna'.

On Tuesday she announced Queensland will keep its hard border lockdown in place until New South Wales and Victoria completely eliminate community transmission of coronavirus.  

Glen and Chantelle Northfield (pictured) are desperate to be by their baby's hospital bedside

Ms Palaszcuk said her government is still 'very concerned' about the situation in NSW and is monitoring it daily. 

As for Victorians, she said they will be barred from entry at least until December. 

'I think we're going to continue to see restrictions in Victoria up until Christmas time,' she said on Monday.

'That's very unfortunate for people living there but it's a serious situation.' 

Queensland's border slammed shut to Victorians on July 10 as a second wave of coronavirus began smashing the state.

Fears the outbreak could spill into NSW quickly mounted, prompting Ms Palaszcuk to lock NSW and the ACT out a month later, on August 8. 

Despite infections dwindling in NSW, the QLD Premier said the changing situation in the state, like the City of Sydney this week being declared a hotspot, meant interstate travel still poses a health risk. 

'We are still very concerned about NSW and we are watching very closely if there is any movement of cases in northern NSW,' Ms Palaszcuk said on Tuesday.

'It’s critical that we keep on top of that … we can't give that certainty when the situation is constantly evolving and changing.

'I will make the best decisions to keep Queenslanders safe.'  

Ms Palaszcuk has been slammed for her tight border restrictions, with critics arguing they are impacting the economy and draining resources needed to enforce them.

Responding to criticism on Tuesday, Ms Palaszcuk credited her state's tight regulations with keeping Queensland's community transmissions low. 

'Queenslanders can go about their daily lives which is not the case in other parts of the world,' she said. 

'My priority is to keep Queensland as open for Queensland as much as possible during this time.'

'We are not the only state that has borders shut, and what we have seen with those states with hard border closures we do not have a large number of cases.' 

Ms Palaszcuk has been slammed for her tight border restrictions, with critics arguing they are destroying the economy (pictured, the border on August 7)

The premier also revealed she had recently received a letter from Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressing his concern about the economic hit to the agricultural sector and supply chains, which he said were at risk due to border closures. 

Ms Palaszczuk said the letter was addressed to all premiers and she would be open to discussing the matter further in Cabinet.

'The prime minister has written to all premiers. We only just received that letter. It's a very generic letter and of course we're happy to have further discussions at national cabinet,' she said.

'It's just a very generic letter. It talks about health, well freight we have a national agreement about freight and the testing of drivers and in relation to health we want the best health care for all Australians no matter where they live.'