Qld Covid exemption sees ‘homeless’ Grafton couple make it across the border

It took 10 days of calling for Glen and Gloria Sheather to make it across the border, but they’ll still have to wait to get to their new Queensland home.

What started out as a three-and-a-half-hour trip from Grafton to their new home in Queensland will take them almost a month thanks to Queensland’s border control regulations.

Still, Glen Sheather and his wife Gloria are relieved they’re now across the border after spending more than a week in a caravan park at the border waiting to be let in.

“It is a big relief, though it has been very frustrating,” Mr Sheather said from their hotel quarantine room where they will spend the next two weeks.

After Queensland Health again changed their requirements for border entry, they were able to obtain an exemption on Monday.

“Between myself and my daughter, we had been ringing them every day, and there was so many things we had to go through, and tick every box,” Mr Sheather said.

Even after they gained the exemption, they encountered a further problem at the border as they drove through.

“My pass was okay, but my wife’s had a problem, and the cops’ system is that if there’s any bit of a problem their computer won’t let them through,” Mr Sheather said.

“We were on the side of the road, on the phone along with my daughter to get it sorted, which took around half an hour.”

Glen and Gloria Sheather in hotel quarantine in Queensland. Picture: Supplied

Mr Sheather said with only access to his phone, he sometimes found the process overwhelming and frustrating, and said it was only with the help of others they managed to cross.

“The police said we were one of the rare ones to cross by car,” he said.

“Many had to drive back to Ballina and fly in to the Gold Coast … but my wife had a letter from her doctor saying she couldn’t fly.”

The couple were sent straight to the Crowne Plaza at Broadbeach for hotel quarantine, and while Mr Sheather said the means were “mostly fast food” and the room small, they had a balcony which opened, and generally had no complaints.

“There’s people in worse situations,” he said.

“At the caravan park there were people with three kids all crammed in.

“And if the disease comes up to Tweed Heads and goes through there, there’s people going to be sick in caravans and tents – it’d be a nightmare.”

Mr Sheather they were looking forward to finishing their epic journey on September 21 when they can finish their drive to become Queenslanders.

Glen Sheather with wife Gloria in Tweed Heads Caravan Park.

“In my opinion, it’s all because the Queensland government panicked because their vaccination rates were too low while the infection rate was accelerating,” he said.

“It’s been very frustrating.”

The story started when they decided to sell their Grafton home after 53 years of marriage and move to a lifestyle village in Ipswich to be closer to their children and downsize.

However, with changing border restrictions, the Queensland government slammed the door in their face, leaving them without a home and running out of money while they waited.

And it has been revealed they are just one of nearly 3000 people trying to move or return to their home in Queensland as the government opened up just 50 spots in hotel quarantine.

It was cold comfort for many, when NRL players’ wives, girlfriends, kids and officials were allowed to enter.

“I’m pissed off,” Mr Sheather said.

“No one seems to care.”

The couple were organised to move all their belongings across the border and start their new life on August 26, complete with all the required permits at the time.

However, they received a notification that their border permits were no longer valid.

They reapplied for resident passes and headed to the border.

While their removalist truck made it through the border, Mr Sheather wasn’t so lucky, pulled over by the police at the border checkpoint.

“He took one look at our NSW plates, and told us we had the wrong pass and turned us around,” Mr Sheather said.

“I said it was the only pass I could get … but he didn’t want to look at our certificates or anything … they turned us around with an escort and the lights flashing.

“It was very embarrassing.”

Staying in a Tweed Heads caravan park, Mr Sheather said the uncertainty of their ordeal was taking a toll.

“I’m barely sleeping at nights … my wife is crying,” he said.

“We’re in our 70s and we’re in a caravan park with lots of restriction and lots of cops watching everything we do.

“All of our stuff is in Ipswich … and thank goodness our kids were there to take it.

“Luckily we packed a few nights’ clothes with us.

“We’re still paying for our house in Ipswich, and then we’re paying nearly $700 a week here, and we’re running out of money pretty fast.”

A spokesman for Queensland Health said their Covid-19 prevention measures had evolved as more contagious variants emerged and have continued to be successful in keeping the virus out of the community and protecting Queenslanders.

“We know border closures are inconvenient and can cause disruption to people’s lives and livelihoods,” he said.

“We must balance these factors against the serious health risk to more than five million Queenslanders.

“Due to hotel capacity issues, for a two-week period from 25 August, Queensland residents, those intending to relocate to Queensland and visitors who have been in a hotspot will not be allowed to enter Queensland without an exemption.”

Mr Sheather said he was hopeful that he would be allowed in on September 8, after spending nearly two weeks without their possessions, but didn’t really know.

“We’ve heard figures of maybe up to ten weeks in the park, so who knows?” he said.

“For someone our age, what threat do we pose coming from an area that’s totally clean.

“There’s more of a threat with all these other people trying to get across the border.

“It’s just heartless.”