Darling Downs family arrive in Queensland to be slugged $15,000 in hotel quarantine fees

After being trapped south of the border for more than a month, a Darling Downs family has finally returned to Queensland to do their 14 day quarantine. But their ordeal has come at a cost.

A Toowoomba woman and her family have been granted permission to return to Queensland after spending more than a month trapped in New South Wales, but their long-awaited reunion will come at a cost.

Highfields woman Lisa Minz flew to South Australia in early September to help her daughter, son-in-law and four children make the move from the mining town of Roxby Downs back home to the Darling Downs.

After spending two years as a subcontractor with BHP, Peter and Emily Daniells were ready to return to the Sunshine State, with the family arranging a home at Meringandan and Mr Daniells a new job.

But the family were caught in limbo after a bureaucratic bungle saw them turned away at the NSW-Queensland border and stuck in Moree for several weeks.

TRAPPED: Peter, Addie, Phoenix, Elijah Emily and Theo Daniells are in limbo trapped in Moree, NSW, after their attempt to move from South Australia to the Darling Downs was blocked by police at the Queensland border.

Lisa’s husband John said their ordeal was one step closer to being over after the family were informed they had been granted permission they could fly to Queensland on Tuesday.

Mr Minz said the entire ordeal had been a frustrating experience littered with miscommunication and conflicting advice.

“The police called a week ago and said they didn’t have an exemption, but then they waited until Monday to call and say that they could have flown in a week ago, no-one knows exactly what’s going on and the inconsistency is terrible,” he said.

“I’m very relieved that they’re back in Queensland but I think a lot of the emotional damage has been done because there was no feeling they were progressing.

“At least now they have light at the end of the tunnel, they’ve got 14 days quarantine to do and they’re one step closer to being in their own homes.”

Lisa Minz with grandchildren Elijah and Addie Daniells, currently stuck in Moree after being refused entry into Queensland.

To top it all off, the family are now facing a bill of up to $15,000 for their airfares and two weeks in hotel quarantine in Chermside.

“We haven’t seen the bill yet and we’re hoping that given it was a miscommunication from the government that they will foot part of the bill,” Mr Minz said.

“The other cost is the emotional damage that has been done after they had to go through seven weeks of this turmoil unnecessarily.”

Queensland’s Deputy Opposition leader and Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki said this ordeal should never have dragged out this long.

“Mistaken departmental advice was worsened by bureaucratic delays and silence,” he said.

“It has taken a serious mental health toll on the family.

“Exemptions to cross the border should be dealt with compassionately and consistently.”

ORIGINAL STORY: A family trapped in New South Wales for more than a month after getting caught south of the border while trying to relocate back to the Darling Downs has received a glimmer of hope that their ordeal may soon finally be over.

Despite what should have been a 26-hour drive becoming a five week nightmare, a Queensland Health spokesman confirmed an exemption application has been received for the family to head home.

“Queensland Health is providing significant support to the applicant to progress this exemption application,” he said.

“Our Exemptions Team are in contact with the family to ensure they provide sufficient information to support their application to enter Queensland by road. Once further information is provided, the application can be progressed.

“The Queensland Health Exemptions team works incredibly hard, under very difficult circumstances, seven days a week. We understand the impact of our decisions, and we are working within the boundaries of legislation, health directions and protocols to ensure public health remains a top priority. We are doing everything possible to process exemption requests as quickly as we can.”

The news comes as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the state’s domestic border would be opened on December 17, regardless of whether 80 per cent of the eligible population is vaccinated.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday declared families needed to be reunited and that “we have to give certainty”.

She urged Queenslanders to play their part and dramatically boost the current double vaccination rate of just 56.6 per cent ahead of a worst-case scenario of 1200 cases a day when the borders reopen.

“We have to reunite families, this is fundamental,” she said.

“The faster we are vaccinated, the faster these deadlines will be achieved.”