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Just over a year ago, Sarah Hooper’s partner was scheduled to fly to New Zealand to begin their “afterlife” together, but missed the chance to board their plane for just two days.
Thomas Liley visited Hooper for Christmas in 2019, but the Christchurch woman has not seen him since.
Liley, who has dual citizenship between the United States and Australia, had just left her job in San Francisco, moved out of her home and sent all her belongings to New Zealand when the borders were closed.
“Here we are 12 months later, meanwhile, all his belongings are in Christchurch,” Hooper said.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement on Monday of a trans-Tasmanian bubble left Hooper hopeful but skeptical.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces that there will be an announcement later on Australia’s travel bubble.
Ardern said several problems needed to be resolved before a trans-Tasmanian bubble could move forward, but the government expected to announce a bubble start day on April 6.
Hooper said that Liley didn’t want to believe anything until it was concrete.
The couple was in a “constant state of limbo”, which caused a great emotional impact.
However, after Ardern’s announcement, Hooper felt that they were finally getting closer to the meeting.
They had four unsuccessful attempts to obtain a border waiver, despite spending hours gathering evidence of their 10-year relationship.
Liley recently moved to Sydney, where the couple first met, hoping that the reunion would be easier.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / THINGS
Dave Brennan, Co-Director of Waka on Avon, is ready for foreign tourists, when they are allowed to enter New Zealand.
For Australian Robyn McGowan, who lives in Perth, hopes of a trans-Tasmanian bubble meant she could stop living without her suitcase after five canceled flights while trying to move to Kaitaia, where her mother, aunt and uncle lived.
“For me, the bubble means that I can see my mom, I have a house again with my pets and a car again.”
He decided to move to New Zealand after falling in love with the country while visiting family in 2019.
“My newest flights are booked for April 30, so I’ll be holding my breath until then,” McGowan said.
Palmerston North woman Claire Page felt less optimistic because Monday’s announcement meant “more waiting.”
Supplied
Claire Page and Jason Hazzard have been separated since January 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Page last saw her partner, Australian Jason Hazzard, when he visited her on vacation in January 2020.
Hazzard was destined to move to New Zealand in June 2020, but his association visa applications were rejected.
The couple had spent $ 1,700 on an immigration consultant and had 61 pages of evidence of their relationship, including text messages, thousands of phone call records, flight details, and wire transfers.
However, their application was rejected because they had not lived together.
“We missed so much, birthdays and Christmas … it seems like we’re wasting time not being together,” Page said.
“They let the Wiggles in … that’s a kick in the teeth.”
Page said Monday’s announcement of an announcement in two weeks felt like the process was dragging on.
His reunion with Hazzard was “so close, yet so far.”
