Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Johan, who is in his late sixties, has lived in the electorate of Curtin for years and, like so many others, Johan has family living overseas. During COVID, his sister's husband was diagnosed with and ultimately passed away from stage 4 cancer. They lived in South Africa. Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions, Johan was unable to travel to South Africa to attend his brother-in-law's funeral or to be by the side of his sister to give her support in her time of grief. Her grief was overwhelming and, tragically, Johan's glamorous, talented and devoted sister ended her own life soon after her husband's death. In speaking with me, Johan was quite matter of fact in saying that his sister was sacrificed for the greater good. However, in his own words, he also told me: 'I believe that the COVID situation has changed and, while the government has done a very good job in the past, and that intervention was sound philosophically and ethically, the change in situation puts a question as to the continuation of the ethical rightness. I call for a return of personal liberties that is no longer morally, philosophically and ethically acceptable to take away people's personal freedoms.'

Jo, in her fifties, has also lived in the electorate for decades. In her words: 'I've been cut off from my only child for too long. He has battled through life in New York without family, without hugs and without the support of Australia he should have got as a citizen. He is one of those who has been forgotten and vilified in the press here. The hate directed at Australians living overseas has been hard to take. The effect on my mental health and physical health has been substantially worse than I would have imagined, but the government doesn't care. Our family is just collateral damage and we are not listed in any numbers anywhere. We want our family reunited. We have done all the right things throughout—vaccinated as soon as possible and quarantined as required. We don't get any money from the government and my son gets nothing. We just want to be together.'

Ted, in his sixties, wrote me this, in part: 'A ship in the harbour is safe, but that's not what ships are for. Being denied the freedom to travel, even in your own country, when double vaccinated is not what life is for. The values of this government seem to be that a normal life is being able to have a beer at the pub or go to the footy, rather than being able to be with your family even in our own country at the end of life or other significant events. My father passed away last week and my brother, who is double vaccinated, could not be at his end of life. This is now affecting thousands of families. For many of us, the window to travel is a joy and this joy for many seniors is closing down. Seniors are being robbed of time. This virus is not going away. We need to learn to live with it and the price we pay for kicking that can down the road is enormous and it's particularly enormous for seniors.'

Pamela, born in Cottesloe, told me this: 'COVID-19 is not the only killer out there. Separation from family and friends during any of life's emotional crises and celebrations, things we once said we valued, delivers long-term psychological damage and immense distress. My very elderly mother lives in Perth. I live and have businesses in London. I stayed in Perth for 18 months to care for her during the pandemic at a cost to my business and personal life. I returned to England in late August to pick up the pieces against the then promised international border openings in time for Christmas family reunions. Now my mother has had a stroke and I'm desperate to be back but the premier has extended the state's hibernation from the world and soon probably the rest of Australia again. My 95-year-old mother cannot keep waiting for new conditions to arise and promised reunions to be broken'.

These are real Western Australians and real stories. These are our friends, neighbours and colleagues. Yes, we have been living a free life in Western Australia in many respects and it's been wonderful, but it has not been without cost. These stories are just the tip of the iceberg of those in WA who have been impacted by the border closures. We need our vaccination rates to increase. We need to ask for and be given a clear time frame as to when our borders will open. We need to ask for and be given a clear plan out. We need clarity, because there are so many of us who need hope.