‘Gives people hope’: details of Trans-Tasman bubble are too scant for kiwi parent in Australia

An Australian Kiwi father who has not seen his children in New Zealand in nine months says he is frustrated at the lack of details about the possible trans-Tasman bubble.

Matt Pronk moved to Sydney in June 2019 for a fresh start after his relationship with the mother of his children ended, but he traveled back to Auckland every fortnight to visit 14-year-old Charlie and Poppy-Jane, of 3.

His last visit was just before the border closes in March. Since then, he has been waiting for an unqualified trip between the two countries, only to be disappointed with every update, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement this week that the Cabinet has agreed “in principle” to establish a trans-Tasmanian bubble. in the first quarter of 2021.

“My initial reaction was to be excited, but then there is absolutely no commitment to anything,” Pronk said.

“I feel like there have been times like this in the last year and it never happened. People are excited, we still cannot book a trip there because there is no certainty of what she said. “

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Pronk also has two children with his new partner in Australia, Lily, 14 months old, and Rosie, who was born eight weeks ago.

“Rosie hasn’t met any of her family in New Zealand at this stage, and Lily has hardly spent time with them.”

While the establishment of the one-way safe zone in October, which allowed New Zealand passengers to travel to parts of Australia without having to self-quarantine upon arrival, had been a “ray of light”, the cost of managing The isolation in New Zealand as well as her inability to take more than two weeks off from work meant she was not yet an option for Pronk.

She tried to apply for an exemption from managed isolation in New Zealand due to her family and work situation. But his request was rejected and he has been struggling to get answers from officials.

“They came back to me and told me that my waiver request had been rejected and that a support person would call me to see other options. I never got that call, ”he said.

“They were pretty ruthless in my opinion, you’re just a number.”

He then explored whether it would be possible for his children to come to Australia, where they would not have to be quarantined, but found that it was not possible for them to travel as unaccompanied minors.

Currently, Air New Zealand does not accept unaccompanied minors for international travel, while Virgin Australia requires passengers 2-4 years of age to be accompanied by a passenger 15 years of age or older.

He contacted Immigration to ask if he could travel to Auckland to pick them up at the airport and bring them back, without officially entering the country.

“I said, is there a chance for me to fly to New Zealand and skip through customs, do an international transfer and go back to Australia with the kids? Then when they return, they can isolate themselves with their mother, either in hotel quarantine or at home.

”They put me between the isolation and immigration team. Neither of us really had any answers. “

When he contacted Managed Isolation and Quarantine again for help with his situation, he received a standard response telling him to request a voucher for managed isolation or request a waiver.

Pronk said he just wanted to be certain about when he would be able to see his children again.

“Why not set a date? That’s the question, ”he said.

“The first trimester ends in March next year, which means a full year since I saw my family.”

The Ministry of Enterprise, Innovation and Employment, which deals with managed isolation and quarantine, as well as immigration, has been contacted for comment.