Moving home: border closures present challenges for Regina in Queensland move Coffs Coast Coffs Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - October 7, 2021 Former Boambee resident, Regina Saunders, 86, just wants to move into her new home in Queensland. STRANDED in motels after selling her home in Boambee, 86-year-old Regina Saunders cannot make the move into her new retirement village home in Ashmore, QLD, because it requires her crossing the Queensland border. With the border closed she’s currently not allowed into the Sunshine State. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au “There must be lots of other people like me, stranded and needing to get to their homes, having to wait for Queensland Government approval and spending lots of money on motel bills,” Regina told News Of The Area, from a motel room in Coffs Harbour. “I thought I was doing the right thing, down-sizing and finding a retirement home near my elder son, so he can ‘keep an eye on me’ at my age. “Once I’d sold the house, I sent the furniture up and intended to drive myself up. “Then Queensland closed the borders.” Regina applied for a Queensland entry pass via the Queensland Government website on 17 September and received a no-reply acknowledgement. At the time of talking with NOTA (3 October), she had not received any further messages from the Queensland Government about her application. NOTA contacted the Queensland Police Service (QPS) about the border regulations. They suggested Regina contact the Queensland Health Exemptions Unit, to see if she can apply for a hardship exemption. This is separate to the border pass system that the QPS manages. The application form states ‘It is very unlikely you will be given an exemption unless you are considered to have an extreme exceptional circumstance – this applies to very few people’. “How many other people are in the same situation?” Regina asks. “I’m spending money on household and personal items, building up my home again in various motels. “I’m worrying about all my possessions sitting in my new home for weeks, which I will have to sort out when I get there. “I can’t get rental assistance through Centrelink because I’ve got an asset. “I’d rather be isolating in Queensland for 14 days, than sitting here helpless in NSW. “I can’t go on like this…I don’t know what to do. “I’m not the only one but at my age every day is a bonus.” By Andrea FERRARI Regina takes comfort from Kicsi (which means Little One in Hungarian, her mother tongue).
