Amanda Pike says police stopped her from taking son from NSW to see dad in Queensland

Queensland authourities have responded after a nine-year-old was denied entry to the state to visit his dad.

Matt Hancock (pictured) and Amanda Pike say their son Steele has been stopped from seeing his dad who lives in Queensland because they don’t have a court ordered custody agreement.

Authorities enforcing the Queensland New South Wales hard border will decide if children with parents on either side of the border can cross on a case-by-case basis.

This comes after a number of families in Tweed Heads and the Gold Coast have reported they have been turned away at the border attempting to take their children to another parent because they did not have a court order.

A Queensland Police spokesman said if a person complies with the Chief Health Officer’s directions they may be permitted to enter Queensland.

“A person who has been in a Covid-19 hotspot outside the border zone in the previous 14 days or since the start date identified for the hotspot, whichever is shorter, can only enter Queensland by air if the person is required to fulfil child custody arrangements,” the spokesman said.

“People entering Queensland are required to provide information relating to their individual shared parenting or child contact circumstances and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

“A person needs to be able to satisfy to the emergency officer at the time of entry, that they meet all requirements at that time.

“Due to the large variation of arrangements a definitive list of documents cannot be provided.”

Police in Griffith Street, Coolangatta at the Queensland and New South Wales border checkpoint. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

He said travellers can receive further advice relating to their individual circumstances from Queensland Health or alternatively apply for an exemption.

Nine-year-old Steele Pike was left heartbroken after queuing for four-and-a-half hours at the state border on Monday only to be told he can’t see his dad.

Mum Amanda Pike and dad Matt Hancock have a co-parenting agreement where Steele spends every second weekend with his dad and half of every school holidays.

But with Ms Pike in Tweed Heads and Mr Hancock in Coomera, the decision of a police officer has left the family separated.

Amanda Pike with son Steele Pike who was not allowed to cross the state border to see his Dad.

“I was told unless I have court orders or personal exemption from the police commissioner I can’t cross,” Ms Pike said.

“I’ve had to tell my nine-year-old he can’t see his dad.

“He’s very, very heartbroken about it.”

She said the move meant Steele was also separated from the whole other half of his family including his nanna, brother and sister.

“We’re punished because we didn’t drag our kid through court,” Ms Pike said.

“There’s a lot of people who have mutual out of court agreements.

“We’ve done what’s best for our nine-year-old and we’re being punished now for that.”

She said attempting to get an interim order seemed futile with massive delays in the courts due to reduced services during the lockdown.

She said she was concerned her son could miss out on seeing his dad during the upcoming September school holidays.

“He asks me ‘how long can I not see dad?’,” Ms Pike said.

“It could be months – I’m really worried he’s going to struggle.”

Steele Pike with his nanna, Shirley Sewell.

She said she was hoping for more clarity on how a child could cross the border to see their family, especially without a court agreement.

Dad Matt Hancock agreed with Ms Pike, stating they’d had a mutual agreement since their son’s birth and felt communication from the Queensland and NSW governments was not transparent.

Mr Hancock said he was “gutted, miserable and angry” he couldn’t see his child.

“I want to see my son,” he said.

“I can video call him any day, any time and I get to see his face but it’s not the same as when you hold your child.

“You can tell him how much you love him 15 times on the phone, but it doesn’t cover the cuddles and when he jumps on the couch – he’s a very affectionate young boy.

“I’m gutted I can’t see him.”

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said a New South Wales border resident could enter Queensland to “fulfil an obligation relating to shared parenting, child contact or contact between siblings”.

“The shared parenting arrangement does not need to be court ordered,” she said.