NSW boarding families bashing heads against ongoing restrictions

With just days to go before some complete their whole schooling, Queensland Health maintains that quarantine restrictions will ease only once the state reaches its vaccination milestones.

The national code developed a set of COVID-safe principles for a consistent approach among states and territories to help boarding students and their families travel across intrastate and interstate borders during school holidays and throughout school terms.

It was embraced at the time by rural families who had been through more than a year of mental anguish of pandemic border restrictions, and by Isolated Children Parents' Association president Alana Moller, who said all levels of the organisation had worked tirelessly with the government to find a solution to the prolonged border restrictions that left interstate boarding students separated from their homes in the bush.

Last week though, the federal ICPA conference in Longreach heard that the Queensland government hadn't implemented the code's recommendations, and families were faced with ongoing separations.

A motion from the Hay branch in NSW called on ICPA to continue lobbying the federal government with its 'no borders for boarders' campaign.

NSW ICPA president Kate Warby cited an example two weeks earlier when a geographically isolated family that was double vaccinated and willing to undergo testing, with extensive risk management plans in place, weren't able to travel to Queensland to see their son awarded school captaincy.

"A child doesn't get to do that twice," she said. "Our children need us; we shouldn't be denied access to them."

The first principle of the national boarding code states that boarding school students are a vulnerable cohort and need support.

"As young and vulnerable Australians, all boarding school students should be supported to return to their homes and schools where required as a matter of priority, including at times where individual circumstances may require movement across local government areas and state/territory borders," it says.

However, parents such as Susie and Andrew Higgins, who live on a mixed cattle and cropping property 60km west of Gunnedah, haven't seen either of their three sons since the July school holidays and are now locked out of attending their eldest son's graduation in Toowoomba.

"He'll be the only student in his year that won't have parents there," Ms Higgins said.

Their son Joe said that although his whole family had followed all the protocols set up by Queensland Health, it had been very tough for his family to coexist.

"I would just like to see my parents again and to be able to celebrate my end of schooling with them," he said. "And I would like to see my little brother who has been alone at home without his three other brothers as well."

2020 FLASHBACK: Boarders overcome border barrier bungles

Ms Higgins said she was faced with relying on families to help pack up Joe's years of accumulated boarding luggage and either giving him private board in Queensland until mid-December, or taking him to the border to walk across to his parents, along with his piles of luggage.

"Why hasn't Queensland Health implemented the principles of the National Code on Boarding School Students," Ms Higgins asked.

"If they had been implemented, then we would be able to drive to Queensland and collect our children.

"The Queensland government has taken the credit for being part of the code but have not done anything to ensure that it works effectively."

A Queensland Health spokesperson said before the code was implemented, they had been issuing class exemptions for boarding school students returning home to Queensland during every school holiday.

However, Ms Higgins said that class exemption was related to the September holidays and has since ceased.

"To our knowledge no new class exemption has been granted to NSW families who live outside of the border zone for the upcoming holidays," she said.

What makes it more galling is that people returning from overseas aren't subject to the same restrictions.

Another family feeling they have less Australian citizenship rights than New Zealand South Island visitors who have been double vaccinated and undergone a COVID test are Anna and Stephen Madden of Wee Waa.

Their son Joe has described the feeling of not being able to have his parents at a Southport School assembly where he was named 2022 captain as being "like an animal at the zoo, forced away by the Queensland government".

"I felt let down, unsupported and unnoticed by the government," he said. "After the assembly, I was able to FaceTime Mum and Dad and seeing the emotion, stress and grief that it the whole situation had caused them broke me inside, although I would not show it."

Anna Madden said there was no equity in Queensland Health's decision making process.

"We thought the national code was a big step forward but then realised it was just rhetoric and had no real substance - it's left up to the states," she said. "Surely the federal government can have some say, when they provide the funding."

The Queensland Health spokesperson said it needed to be remembered that COVID-19 was a virus that has claimed more than 1400 lives nationally and over 5 million across the world.

"Quarantine restrictions will ease once Queensland reaches its vaccination milestones. Until then, we need to remain vigilant," the person said.

Federal Regional Education Minister Bridget McKenzie urged all states and territories to implement the national code, saying she would be raising the issue at a meeting of Australian Education Ministers on Friday.

"National Cabinet endorsed the national code for boarding school students to provide clarity for students and families," she said.

"The code was intended to provide states and territories with principles to develop common sense, COVID-safe travel arrangements to help students and their families navigate border restrictions.

"Border closures and intrastate travel restrictions have helped contain the spread of COVID-19, but it has unintentionally left some boarding students isolated and anxious, away from the support and care of family, causing additional stress during what is already a difficult time.

"While the code has assisted many, it is disappointing that some families are still facing difficulties with this.

"Families deserve certainty, particularly as we approach the end of the school year and the Christmas holiday period.

"The matter is urgent as Year 11 and 12 school students are progressively concluding their studies from now onwards, and before border restrictions are scheduled to ease in some states and territories."

ICPA conference commentators also expressed frustration at the federal-state standoff that was impacting families.

Northern Territory ICPA president Sarah Cook said most of the geographically isolated students in the NT boarded interstate and they had found state and territory leaders only interested in acting independently, rather than working collectively.

"This is a massive issue for us, but I can only wish you luck," she said.

Federal ICPA life member Jane Gloster, who is from South Australia, said states obviously had no interest in working together, as they were "getting too many votes at home marching to the beat of their own drum".

The conference successfully move a floor motion for ICPA to work with the Minister for Regional Education to request respective state governments "to implement in an expeditious manner, a clear and consistent pathway for the right of appeal process under the current national code for boarding schools students".

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