Karl Stefanovic’s plea after Sydney kids are banned from seeing dying Queensland dad

Today show host Karl Stefanovic has made an emotional plea live on air, asking for a “medium” to be met when it comes to border closures.

The grandfather of four Sydney kids prevented from seeing their dying father due to Queensland’s border lockdown has made a heartbreaking appearance on Today.

Speaking with host Karl Stefanovic, Bruce Langborne – the father of terminally ill Brisbane truckie Mark Keans – said it was a “gut-wrenching” situation.

“We’re fighting as hard as we can to get up there,” he said.

“We’re bashing our heads against a brick wall but you’ve just got to try to be as positive as possible.

“Mark is crook as a dog … he’s struggling, he’s upset he can’t see anyone.

“It’s hard. We’re locked out in his time of need and that’s hard because you want to be there and you can’t. It’s gut-wrenching.”

"When you have a family choosing which child should say goodbye to their father, their dad, it's gone too far." Karl's heart-wrenching response to the Queensland family who have to choose which child gets to say goodbye to their dying father due to border restrictions. #9Today pic.twitter.com/EpelyiGJdk

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) September 9, 2020

Stefanovic also took aim at the harsh border closure, saying that while he’s supported the Premier’s strength, allowing the family to see Mr Keans was a “no-brainer”.

“When you have a family choosing which child should say goodbye to their father, their dad, it’s gone too far,” he said.

“Grant the exemption, the Premier is not heartless, but she needs to streamline this system while protecting Queenslanders. There is a medium. Let these kids say goodbye, and let a dying man say goodbye.”

Earlier, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian hit out at the Queensland Government, saying she “doesn’t understand” its border closure given both states have recorded similar coronavirus case numbers.

She labelled Mr Keans’ inability to see his four children as a “horrible situation” that could be resolved by a softened border.

“It is a horrible situation,” she said.

“That’s what we want to avoid. No matter what side of the border you are on, it’s what we want to avoid. We are all Aussies.

“Our numbers are roughly the same, and we just need to support each other and support our communities rather than having this aspiration of zero cases indefinitely because that’s just not possible to shut down an economy.

“You can’t eliminate because it keeps popping up. You can strive to have no cases but that’s a really hard ask.”