Woman told to hire private plane from Sydney to Melbourne to see dying dad

A woman has been told to fork out thousands of dollars to charter a private plane from Sydney to Melbourne in order to see her dying father.

An Australian woman trying to farewell her dying father must fork out $7,500 for a chartered flight to move from Sydney to Melbourne quarantine, as the Prime Minister puts pressure on health officials to solve compassionate border cases.

Anna Coffey, 32, rushed home from New York six days ago after learning her father had suffered a serious stroke and was in palliative care in a Melbourne hospital with possibly only days to live.

She booked the first available flight to Sydney, not realising state health authorities would not allow her to drive to Victorian quarantine, and from there apply to see her 80-year-old father John a final time.

Australian Anna Coffey rushed back to Australia after her father suffered a stroke. Picture: Supplied

Australian Anna Coffey with her dad. Picture: Supplied

“My dad’s doctors can’t really say if he will be gone tomorrow, or if it could be a week,” she said.

“He has had two ‘incidents’ in the last week, so if another happens it’s probably over.”

Ms Coffey has had both doses of the Moderna vaccine, and tested negative for Covid-19 three times in the past week, but none of those factors have a bearing on Australia’s quarantine process.

After learning of Ms Coffey’s plight, Scott Morrison wrote to her on Monday saying he was “deeply sorry” and hoped a “solution can be found”.

“To be so close to home but to still be so far away from being able to see your father must be heartbreaking,” he said.

“I farewelled my own father last year and I know how important those last moments are.”

Anna Coffey’s father, John, is in palliative care in a Melbourne Hospital. Picture: Supplied

Anna Coffey rushed home from New York six days ago after learning her father had suffered a serious stroke. Picture: Supplied

Mr Morrison is putting pressure on the Australian Health Principal Protection Committee to develop consistent solutions for compassionate cases caught up in quarantine restrictions.

Ms Coffey has been gathering documents to prove her father is expected to die before her 14-day quarantine ends to gain exemptions from both NSW and Victoria Health to move her quarantine location.

But this won’t be enough, with Ms Coffey also advised she must show she has secured a charter flight to get to Melbourne, which has been quoted to cost at least $7,500.

Emails sent to Ms Coffey by NSW Health officials explain they understand her situation is “upsetting and stressful,” but the “challenging” requirements have been put in place for the “protection of the community”.

The letter from Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Ms Coffey questioned why diplomats were able to get exemptions to arrive in Sydney, but then travel by car to Canberra to complete their quarantine, and was advised the length of the trip to Melbourne was an issue.

“The difference in your situation is that the travel time by road from Sydney to Melbourne is approximately nine hours plus stops and you would need to travel through both NSW and Victoria,” an email from NSW Health said.

Ms Coffey, who has been studying in the US and not seen her family since before the pandemic, said it was “inhumane” only the very rich could afford to access the restrictive compassionate systems.

Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan said the point of entry to Australia was “normally” where a person was required to do 14-days of quarantine.

“The chief health officer may choose to give an exemption and allow someone to travel on,” she said.

“They’re decisions made between the two chief health officers … and ultimately therefore the decision by which a person might travel on is theirs to make, not a Commonwealth decision.”