Fears for ‘forgotten’ Queenslander as his health rapidly deteriorates

A man stuck in New Zealand after travelling there to visit his father who has Alzheimer’s disease is now desperately ill himself, with his family fearing the worst if he doesn’t get back to Queensland soon.

A desperately ill Queensland farmer stranded in New Zealand is demanding the Australian Government repatriate hundreds of citizens unable to return home due to the trans-Tasman border bubble pause.

Brad Price, 53, who has severe depression and was recently hospitalised after attempting suicide, has been stuck in Wellington since July after leaving Brisbane to visit his elderly father who has Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr Price has endured five last-minute Air New Zealand flight cancellations and is in “a very frightening and deteriorating mental state”, according to wife Judy Price, who remains at their rural Lockyer Valley property.

Mr Price’s psychiatrist Dr Kailas Roberts has written a support letter for his immediate return, saying he has “significant psychological vulnerabilities by way of a Major Depressive Disorder” that “has been associated with serious suicidal ideation”.

Brad Price is desperate to get back to Australia after becoming stuck in New Zealand after visiting his father who has Alzheimer’s disease. Picture: Supplied

Mr Price is demanding the Federal Government enlist Qantas to bring home the hundreds of “forgotten” Australians across the Tasman.

“If the Australian Government can fly into a hostile war zone to pick up Australians in Kabul, then I can’t see why Qantas can’t be used to help us,” he said.

“I and other taxpayers have kept Qantas afloat during this crisis; it’s only right that these resources are used to help our own.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed there are around 700 Australians (citizens and permanent residents) in New Zealand currently registered with the government as wanting to return.

Mr Price was among those who missed out on rebooking an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Brisbane on Monday, September 20.

A spokesperson for the airline said the flight sold out within three minutes.

The airline has since cancelled its small number of managed isolation flights into Brisbane between September 25 and November 30.

Mr Price has been approved for hotel quarantine by Queensland Health but this approval runs out on October 21.

“We don’t see the Australian or New Zealand governments even trying to address the issue, they’re ignoring it,” he said.

“There are solutions - New Zealand has zero cases outside Auckland. Set up a Wellington hub to service the zero-Covid zone, arrange hotel accommodation to get all Australians to Wellington, conduct Covid-testing, and those cleared can fly directly to Brisbane on Qantas 747s for processing.”

Brendan Luxton took his own life earlier this year after being place in hotel quarantine when he returned from New Zealand. Picture: Supplied

Mrs Price, who contacted The Courier-Mail after reading about the plight of Brendan Luxton who suicided within 24 hours of release from hotel quarantine in Brisbane, said she was fearful for her husband’s life.

“He tried to kill himself last year, after pressures of the drought on farming, and his suicide note was tragic,” Mrs Price, 58, said.

“And now we are seeing him go back into full-on depression after so much time in lockdown and being unable to come home. Even his parents are frightened.”

Sunshine Coast resident Rick van Andel, stranded in Christchurch with his wife Katherine who has a rare disease, described the process of trying to get home as a “s**t-fight”.

“What few flights we could find sold out within seconds, and now Air New Zealand has stopped flying until almost Christmas,” he said.

“It would be absolutely wonderful if the Australian Government would send Qantas to get us out.

“If Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk insists on not opening the borders until 90 per cent vaccination, then we could be here for six months more.”

Mrs van Handel, 69, has subglottic stenosis, a condition in which the airway below the vocal cords narrows.

“She needs surgery every six months to widen her airways and she had her last operation four months ago,” said Mr van Handel, 70.

“We are both fully vaccinated, of no risk, but we’re living in a vacuum where there is no information as to when we can get home.”

Brisbane widow Sally Harrison is also stuck and craving the face-to-face support of family in Queensland, having taken her husband’s ashes to New Zealand several months ago.

DFAT has been commented for further comment.

DFAT encourages Australians who are currently overseas and have been trying to return home, but have not yet been able to, to register their details via the registration portal.

Further information on registering with DFAT can be found at: COVID-19: Registering with DFAT | Smartraveller.