Primary school teacher Jeremy Morgan said he flew to Melbourne to see his sick mother on July 9 and had been stuck there since.
He grew up in Melbourne, but was a permanent resident of New Zealand.
His mother had been sick for 18 months and he had not seen her in that time, he said.
Four days into his visit Melb-ourne was called into lockdown, which kept him separated from his two children and pet dog.
Mr Morgan’s boys — aged 8 and 11 — were staying with their mother, but the setup was not sustainable.
The pair had separated but still took equal responsibility for their children, he said.
His dog was staying in a pet hotel.
He knew there was a risk when he made plans to travel back, but decided he needed to see his mother.
"The borders had been open for six weeks, I only needed eight days."
The trip had already cost him about $5000, but the extended fees were adding up.
His car was still parked in the airport car park and the pet hotel fee was not cheap, he said.
He believed he was lucky to be in a position where he could afford the extra fees, but others would not be so fortunate.
He hoped to be back in the country for the beginning of the school term but was forced to make plans for someone to cover his work.
Mr Morgan was concerned those in New South Wales would get priority and was worried how long it would take for him to get back to New Zealand.
The New Zealand Government should reassess how they viewed offshore permanent residents, he said.
He understood the process was complicated but believed there needed to be more consideration for getting those who tested negative for Covid back into the country.
"It’s frustrating and I’m frightened."
Being stuck in Melbourne made him appreciate the freedom of New Zealand.
"It’s such a sense of relief to know that when I get back into New Zealand I’m back in one of the safest countries in the world."
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Comments
Just chill, your stuck in Aussie...not Lebanon, Syria, South/North Africa or Afghanistan. The bombs are not raining down. Trust your ex to keep the kids fed and make good use of the extra time with your mother/ After all thats the reason you are there in the first place. ......lifes to short.
This chap threw the dice and lost. Everyone who ever leaves the country knows that from that moment anything can happen, absolutely anything.
Hopefully this will end this bubble nonsense. The goal should be total vaccination and permanently re-opened borders.
Including forcing those who don't want the vaccine to get it like they are going to do in the US by door knocking with "strike teams", yeah that'll work....
Hey, you were warned before you left about the possibility of something like this happening. My dad died in the US and I couldn't get there to say good bye. No sympathies mate! You rolled the dice.
I have every sympathy for this guy, but I agree with the others, he knew the risks, he took a gamble and it didn't pay off.
My principle concern is about ODT running this story. Given the circumstances, that decision gives every appearance of unnecessarily and even willfully trying to stir up public discord, even anger. Yes, the article has some local interest, it informs the community about one, a single one, of their members who is in an unfortunate situation of his own making. Not worth the column space I would have thought.
I share your view on publishing this story. I am utterly over hearing about people who are in Australia having chosen to go knowing there was a real possibility of getting stuck there. Come on ODT, are you really that short of news?
It's still an item of public interest though. What if it wasn't reported and the same thing happened again in the future. Wouldn't people say 'why were were never told'?
This is a first, I actually agree with a statement made by IRD...amazing.