The family of man who suicided after hotel quarantine demand system overhaul

The family of a childhood friend of Annastacia Palaszczuk who suicided after hotel quarantine say there is no point in just tweaking a system that favours celebrities and footballers - it needs a total overhaul.

The family of a childhood friend of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk who suicided after a hotel quarantine fiasco is demanding a high-level taskforce to “fix Queensland Health”, saying the state government “still doesn’t get it”.

The family revealed in The Courier-Mail on Saturday how the system failed Brendan Luxton by ignoring at least eight pleas for help and not even bothering to respond to an official application for him to be allowed to quarantine safely in his sister’s Brisbane home.

Mr Luxton, a retired successful financier, took his own life within 24 hours of release from the Marriott Hotel in July 2020.

His sister Marita Corbett said she was as disgusted with the Palaszczuk government’s “limp” response now as she was at the time of the crisis.

“We did this (going public with their story) to get the Premier’s attention – and we still don’t have it,” she said.

“The Premier needs to do three things – admit the system is broken, commit to fixing it within a swift and specified time frame, and create a taskforce to do it.”

Brendan (right) with his sister Marita Corbett and brother Derek Luxton. Brendan took his own life last year after pleas for exemption from hotel quarantine were ignored.

Mrs Corbett, a senior partner with a leading global accounting firm, said the taskforce should include the directors-general of the Premier’s and health departments, the chief health officer and deputy chief health officer, and the Inspector-­General of Emergency Management, who had independent statutory powers.

“Get a blank piece of paper and start again, and this time include room for humanity,” she said. “There is no point tweaking a broken system that favours celebrities and footballers and ignores ordinary Queenslanders.

“We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this in person with the Premier,” said Mrs Corbett, whose previous requests to meet the Premier have been denied.

At the daily Covid press conference on Saturday morning, Ms Palaszczuk – a school friend of Mr Luxton’s – was absent, leaving Health Minister Yvette D’Ath to field several questions about the handling of his case.

 

“The Premier couldn’t even front the cameras herself; D’Ath was not even the health minister last July but now she is the talking head on behalf of the cowards,” Mrs Corbett said.

“It was clear from D’Ath’s comments that the government still doesn’t get it.”

At the press conference, Ms D’Ath said: “Front and centre is always making sure that not only are we keeping the community safe, but those people going into hotel quarantine and home quarantine, that we are providing them with the support that they need.

“We made sure that the support was provided to the individual; I won’t go into the detail of what that support was, but I have been briefed, I’m aware there were numerous contacts made with the individual in hotel quarantine at the time, but suicide is complex.”

Mrs Corbett described Ms D’Ath’s comments on the case as “pathetic”.

Brendan’s sister Marita Corbett and brother Derek Luxton. Pic: Jamie Hanson

She said the outcome of the case – Brendan’s suicide – spoke for itself.

“Any fool can see that whatever was offered was not enough,” she said.

“Brendan needed triage with experienced mental health professionals, he needed an urgent intervention, but instead, we, his family, had to try to keep him together via our iPhones.

“We tried desperately, on so many occasions, to get him the help he needed but our pleas fell on deaf ears, and we watched him fade away.”

Mr Luxton arrived in Brisbane on July 2, 2020, from Auckland where he had been living after retiring from a high-flying job with Scotia Bank in Canada.

Diagnosed with depression and anxiety, he had been having treatment for 18 years but Covid lockdowns in New Zealand had taken a toll and he was looking forward to “resetting” his life in Brisbane with the support of his family.

By the third day of hotel quarantine it was evident Mr Luxton was not coping with the isolation of a hotel room.

Mrs Corbett filed a detailed Covid-safe request on July 4 for her brother to finish the mandatory 14-day quarantine in her home.

 

On July 5, police were sent to Brendan’s hotel room for a welfare check but this only exacerbated his mental distress and paranoia.

“Who knows if Queensland Health sent around people to knock on everyone’s doors and ask, ‘Are you OK, do you need anything?’ ” Mrs Corbett said.

“But Brendan certainly didn’t tell us about this, and he told us everything.

“In any case, the support he needed was so far beyond a routine check-up.”

When Mrs Corbett and younger brother Derek Luxton independently called Queensland Health, pleading for intervention for their ailing brother, they were told to call Lifeline.

Queensland Health later wrote in a letter to Mrs Corbett on August 4 – 18 days after Mr Luxton suicided – that her “exemption request did not receive a response”.

“We are going to be living with Covid for a long time, and the system we have now is not working,” she said.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said compassion was required in the case.

“We need to develop a culture in the exemptions unit where compassion can feature while safety still exists,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“It seems the only way the exemptions unit kicks into action is either in the event of a high-profile arrival or media spotlight on an individual case.

“The Premier says Queensland Health needs to do better and she’s right. But it’s the Premier’s responsibility to ensure Queensland Health does do better.

“Right now we have too many Queensland families suffering enormous pain because of the failings in Queensland Health.”