Jereme Lane

Journalist

There are a number of travellers from New Zealand that have become stranded in FNQ after using the quarantine-free travel bubble open between the countries earlier this year.

Due to Covid-19 lockdowns on the southeast seaboard of Australia as well as North Island New Zealand, the bubble has been closed and there are a number of New Zealand residents stranded here in Queensland and wishing to return home.

According to David Band, a Christchurch resident who has called Port Douglas his winter home for each of the last six years, the New Zealand government has advised returning travellers that there is currently not enough room in quarantine for everyone who wishes to return home.

At the end of July, New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, suspended the travel bubble and warned Kiwis that returning home after this may become difficult.

Mr Band said that he and his wife took a risk which didn’t pay off.

“We normally return late October and as the bubble was only put on hold for eight weeks we took a chance on it being reestablished before now, particularly as FNQ has been largely Covid-free the entire pandemic. It was our call and we’re not looking to blame others,” he said.

Mr Band said there are quite a few Kiwis that come to FNQ every year to beat the cold New Zealand winter and that it's this group that is now stranded.

“We are mostly aged 65 plus, some with health issues, some with prescriptions expiring and really badly missing families,” Mr Band said.

Mr Band said he is in good spirits but some in his group are a little more concerned.

Maxine Leigh and her husband Chris will both be 80 years old soon. They bought a place in Port Douglas 13 years ago based on medical advice. Maxine counts asthma amongst various respiratory issues.

“Waikato in the winter is very damp and that’s no good for anyone with lung problems,” Mrs Leigh said.

“The doctor told us Port Douglas was a great idea and we’ve spent every winter here since. The warm dry weather at this time of year is great for my health and we love this town.”

However, for the first time, Mrs Leigh is concerned about how she is going to get home from her annual winter break. She has an important procedure planned for the end of October, a 4-week old great grandchild to meet and her pension will be cut off at the start of December.

“I don’t want to lose my pension, I worked very hard my whole life for that. I hope it doesn’t come to that but that’s standard if you have been away for 6 months.”

According to media reports in New Zealand, the queue reached 31,800 people at its peak, all vying for only 3205 rooms. The rooms went live at 9am on Monday morning and were gone by 11.30am the same day.

David Band said that on Monday after the ballot, Air New Zealand opened some flights from Australia on it’s website after weeks with no flights, however the earliest flight from Cairns isn’t until 13 November and that’s irrelevant anyway if you can’t get a spot in quarantine.

There is another ballot scheduled for next week but with demand comprehensively exceeding supply, there will be plenty who miss out.

Mr Band knows several other travellers who are experiencing similar problems in FNQ and estimates in excess of 20 couples just in the Douglas Shire are looking to get back to New Zealand during this period of high demand. He is hopeful that there are enough people in the same boat to present a strong case to the government for a repatriation flight.

“We are simply questioning what risks would be posed by flying from Covid-free Cairns to Covid-free Christchurch? Everyone that I have spoken to is fully vaccinated and willing to be tested before boarding the plane. We could quarantine at home in isolation with all costs to be borne by us and not the taxpayer, of which we all are.”

Mr Band said that with such a big backlog of returning travellers, this seems like an easy way to ease that burden using a relatively safe route.

“This will help other travellers returning from the higher-risk major cities by easing the load on quarantine,” he said.

“We are certainly not blaming anyone for the position we are in, we just want to go home to our families.”


Anyone interested in contacting David Band about New Zealand repatriation from FNQ can send their contact details to editor@newsport.com.au