A daughter forced to watch her dad die on SKYPE and a son kept away from his father in his last days: The harrowing stories exposing the cruelty of Annastacia Palazczuk's Covid rules
- A woman has spoken of how she was denied the chance to see her dying father
- Maria O'Dea flew from London to Brisbane to visit her 88-year-old dad John
- Her quarantine exemption was denied and she watched him pass away on Skype
- On Friday Mark Killian was allowed to visit his father in a similar case
A devastated woman has revealed she was denied a final visit to her father by Queensland Health and was forced to watch him die over Skype from hotel quarantine.
Maria O'Dea flew from London to Brisbane in June to be with her 88-year-old father John when his health began to fail.
The elderly man died on Wednesday about an hour after she demanded to know why another family in a similar situation had been granted an exemption by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk - but she had been denied.
Maria O'Dea (pictured with her father John and mother) was denied a quarantine exemption for one last visit with her father
The nursing home where John was staying offered to arrange the visit that would follow strict COVIDsafe precautions including securing a private area outside for them to meet, providing full PPE gear for them both and enforcing the 1.5 metre social distancing rule.
Ms O'Dea is fully vaccinated and has had two recent Covid tests - both negative - and unsuccessfully applied to Queensland Health to get leave from hotel quarantine for the visit.
'If they'd have said yes, I may not have got to be with him when he died, but I would have got to see him last week to say goodbye and the most important thing - he would have known that I came,' Ms O'Dea told 9News.
'And it would have meant the world to my mother. Even just that one small visit would have made a difference to everybody.'
She was told that 'policy had changed' which allowed Mark Killian to see his dying father, a change that had come too late.
Ms O'Dea (pictured) said she was denied the chance to say goodbye in person because of red tape
Ms O'Dea had flown from London to Brisbane to see her father after his health worsened
She said she wants to speak up so others are not forced to go through the same trauma she did
On Wednesday, Mr Killian and his wife Anneli Gericke, who had flown to Australia from Los Angeles, were granted an exemption to see his dying father by the Queensland Premier.
After Queensland Health denied their quarantine exemption application four times, Ms Palaszczuk finally granted it under intense pressure from the media and a scathing letter from Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
When Ms O'Dea heard about the exemption she called Queensland Health and was told they had changed their policy, however, the rule change was too late for her with her dad passing away an hour later.
Ms O'Dea said she is speaking up to draw attention to bureaucratic red tape that seems to contradict common sense.
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'My mother said, "your father would want you to say something if it could help make a difference or prevent this from happening to someone in the future",' she said.
The exemption granted to Mr Killian allowed him to sit by his father Franz's bed at Gold Coast University hospital on Friday and chat to the 80-year-old - a heartwarming moment that very nearly didn't happen.
Mr Killian said from his Gold Coast hotel on Friday night that seeing his father had been surreal.
'It feels completely surreal and completely wonderful on so many levels. It's beautiful even, but at the same time, it's all just very sad,' Mr Kilian told The Gold Coast Bulletin.
'It's not easy but it was huge for us and for him too I think. I don't even think we've had time to process it. There's a lot involved in the logistics'.
Mark Killian got to see his father Franz (pictured) on Friday after Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk granted an exemption after public pressure
Mr Kilian and Mrs Gericke were pictured exiting a small charter plane after touching down on the Gold Coast on Thursday
The couple had flown from L.A. to Sydney on June 15 after the federal government and NSW Health granted them a travel exemption, but when they tried to fly to the Sunshine State on a $15,000 private charter plane, they were refused a quarantine exemption by Queensland Health officials.
Queensland Health rejected the couple's quarantine exemption despite them both being fully vaccinated, and returning three negative to Covid tests - they offered to wear hazmat suits and tracking devices during their visit.
Mr Kilian and his wife were pictured exiting a small charter plane after touching down on at Gold Coast Airport on Thursday.
The pair - who were wearing plastic ponchos, masks and gloves - shared an embrace on the tarmac before making their way to the terminal
The pair - who were wearing plastic ponchos, masks and gloves - shared an embrace on the tarmac before making their way to the terminal.
The couple on Wednesday filmed a heartbreaking video from their Sydney quarantine hotel on Wednesday begging the under-fire Queensland premier to let them in into the state.
The exemption is 'subject to NSW finalising arrangement of safe transfer of the couple to Queensland,' Queensland Health said in a statement.
'All quarantine exemption requests are considered on a case-by-case basis, in line with current national guidelines.
Mr Morrison said he doesn't have the authority to step in and give an exemption prior to Ms Palaszczuk's change of heart
'It has been a nationally agreed position that all international arrivals must complete 14 days of quarantine in their port of arrival.
'Queensland's approach has been in accordance with this national position.'
Prior to the exemption being granted, Mr Kilian told Karl Stefanovic on the Today show that all he wanted is to say 'I love you' to his father one last time.
'We just want to be there for those last days, moments... That's all we want. That's all that all of this is about,' he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Queensland Health and the Queensland Premier's office for comment.
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