Border blues: Outrage as Tweed schoolgirl, 8, blocked from QLD-based parents

A Tweed schoolgirl living with a rare illness is being kept away from her Queensland-based parents due to border closures, while at the same time families of NRL players jet into the state. HER STORY >>>

THIS is the moment an eight-year-old girl shut out of Queensland amid ongoing border closures reunites with her devastated parents over a barricade.

Brisbane residents Boyd and Kathy McNamara have been unable to visit their little girl in person for several weeks now – but this week they finally had enough.

Daughter Bonnie, who lives with a rare form of skeletal dysplasia, resides with Grandmother Jayne Brogden, 63, at Banora Point due to school commitments.

Ms Brogden says she supports lockdowns and abides by public health orders but the arrival of NRL families into Queensland by charter flight on Monday proved the final straw.

“That’s what really made me angry, that parents and children can’t see each other but those people are allowed to enter the state,” Ms Brogden said.

Bonnie, 8, embraces parents Boyd and Kathy McNamara across the border.

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“It’s heartbreaking, I’ve had to get her sorted with home schooling, but she can’t even concentrate on that. All she keeps asking is when she can go and see her mum and dad.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced last week Queensland would halt its government hotel quarantine program for two weeks after it was overwhelmed by interstaters relocating.

A spokesman for Ms Palaszczuk told the Bulletin those NRL families had not entered its hotel quarantine program.

“The NRL has been coming into Qld for months under a bubble arrangement and Covid safe plan agreed to long ago,” he said.

“They are not in hotel quarantine. No one is denied a place in hotel quarantine because of bubble arrangements with sporting teams.”

Bonnie, 8, embraces dad Boyd McNamara across the border.

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It is understood hotels outside the program were booked out by organisations to be used for the families’ mandatory 14-day quarantine. They are believed to be staying in Brisbane.

Bonnie recently underwent surgery on her legs to correct bowing, but her grandma fears all the hard work and rehabilitation will come undone if they are not granted an exemption to attend her doctor’s appointment in Brisbane.

“We’ve had appointments cancelled; we’ve had to have phone ones too. Her parents and I have been fighting to have her little legs fixed and now I worry all her progress might come undone.”

Ms Brodgen said she wanted the border bubble reinstated and said the family would continue to meet at the cross point should the closure remain in place.

Heartbreaking scene: Separated family embrace across border

August 26, 2021

FAMILIES forced apart by Queensland’s hard border closure with NSW have been taking desperate measures to briefly reunite with loved ones.

Heartbreaking pictures have emerged online showing a husband and wife – separated due to cross-border work commitments – embracing at the border as a six-month-old baby clings to its mother.

The Bulletin understands the woman, an owner of a Tweed Heads West cafe, relocated to NSW from her home on the Gold Coast to ensure the survival of her business.

Anita Jamieson took to social media earlier this week, revealing her friend, who did not want to be identified, was forced to leave behind her five children in order to make an income.

Stage four cancer patient Ms Jamieson is allowed to travel to Queensland for treatment, however fears that privilege may soon be revoked due to the ever-changing border rules.

She has joined thousands of residents calling for a border bubble to be reinstated, labelling the situation “gut-wrenching” for those whose lives span the state line.

It has since been reported the border closure will likely remain in place for another 10 weeks.

“This is now how (my friend) sees her husband and five children,” Ms Jamieson said.

“They have a cafe in NSW on the border but live in Queensland. They are now separated without any idea as to when they can be reunited except for a quick hug over the border.”

SOME BUSINESS OWNERS ‘SUICIDAL’ AS BORDER CLOSURE STRETCHES ON

A husband and wife separated by the QLD-NSW border due to work constraints reunite for a brief moment.

The concerned friend revealed the children stayed with their father while their mother worked in her cafe – mostly solo – to produce an income.

“We have a border crisis in our back yard and politicians are doing nothing about it,” Ms Jamieson said.

“I have specialised treatment that only can be received in Queensland. Many friends have been turned back from the border from medical appointments due to not having a letter from their doctor but have proof of appointment.

“The stories down here are absolutely heartbreaking. So many families (are) separated, the border bubble needs to be reinstated immediately.”

MP for Currumbin Laura Gerber said it was heartbreaking to see families ripped apart by “a line on a map”.

Ms Gerber said a targeted support package and a roadmap to the easing of border restrictions must be released to give the community hope.

“The Queensland Government should be working towards a solution, not playing politics with the border,” she said.

“If the Premier truly was prepared to shift the border south, why not work towards a bubble?”

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Currumbin MP Laura Gerber. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

A Queensland Health spokesperson said they knew border restrictions were “tough”, but were “asking people to be sensible”.

“We know that border restrictions are inconvenient and can cause disruption to people’s lives and livelihoods. We must balance these factors against the serious health risk to more than five million Queenslanders,” the spokesperson said.

“New South Wales is in a state-wide lockdown and like we’ve done before with different parts of Australia, Queensland has had to implement border restrictions to keep our community safe.

“We know this is tough, and we’re asking people to be sensible during this time – any contact with someone in New South Wales puts you, your loved ones and the Queensland community at risk.

“We regularly review restrictions and will ease or lift them as soon as it is safe to do so, however the reality is, outbreaks in southern states will not just disappear over the next few weeks.”

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Originally published as Border blues: Outrage as Tweed schoolgirl, 8, blocked from QLD-based parents