Boy, 11, could be forced to stay at his Queensland boarding school until CHRISTMAS as Annastacia Palasczcuk refuses to grant a border exemption
- Justine McNally's 11-year-old son Henry attends boarding school in Queensland
- The family begged for a border exemption to see their son in the school holidays
- Ms McNally said regional families are marginalised by border control measures
- Annastacia Palaszczuk refused to change border rules despite several dramas
An 11-year-old boy from rural NSW could be forced to stay in his boarding school in Queensland until Christmas due to draconian border control measures.
Justine McNally has begged Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for a border exemption so her son Henry can return home to Moree in the school holidays.
Strict Queensland border controls mean Henry would be forced to self-isolate in a quarantine hotel at the family's expense before going back to class.
Ms McNally said regional families are being marginalised by the border control measures, leaving students forced to miss out on spending time with their families.
'It's a big issue for NSW families,' Ms McNally told Daily Mail Australia.
Justine McNally has begged Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) for a border exemption to be able to see her son Henry in the school holidays
Police motion to drivers at the NSW-Queensland border on August 7 amid strict border crossing policies due to the coronavirus pandemic
'We can get our children in, but we can't get them back to Queensland without them quarantining on return if they're not in the border bubble area.
'I think there is a lack of understanding around the sacrifices country people make to give their children opportunities.'
Ms McNally has not seen her son since early August and said Henry was upset he was unable to come home for the holidays.
'We were anxious to see him cause we didn't know when we would be able to see him again,' she said.
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'There's been no timeline given on the border closure policy and it has really increased stress for parents.
'All Henry wants to do is come home and have a couple of weeks on the farm.'
She said political leaders could put themselves in her shoes and allow for travel exemptions for boarding students.
'We don't expect an open border with no paper work,' Ms McNally said. 'We think there has to be a more workable system.'
ICPA QLD President Tammi Irons (pictured) said boarders and their parents alike are struggling with not being able to see each other in the upcoming holiday period
Isolated Children's Parents' Association Queensland president Tammie Irons said parents and their children's mental health were suffering from the border measures.
'It's already been ten weeks, the potential is they might not see their parents until Christmas,' she told news.com.au. 'It's pretty tough.'
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young met with ICPA officials last week, who could not make an agreement for border exemptions for rural boarders.
Premier Palaszczuk last week revealed her state's border wouldn't open until at least October.
'We said we would review at the end of the each month and there has been no advice from the chief health officer to change what we are doing,' she said.
'Queensland will continue to have our borders closed to keep Queenslanders safe, I'm not going to be moved on this.
'Fundamentally the health of Queenslanders is my number one concern.
'We know that people wanted to open our borders earlier. We would have seen a situation that's happening in Victoria happening in Queensland.'
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been outspoken in his criticism of border closures and asked state premiers to commit to having their borders open by Christmas.
All states and territories except for Western Australia on Friday supported Mr Morrison's plan to create a road map out of border restrictions.
