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Sue explains her journey arriving in Melbourne from New Zealand. (Nine)
A woman who traveled from New Zealand to Melbourne says the Victorian government is making them feel like criminals when they entered the state in “good faith.”
Sue, originally from Melbourne, took a domestic flight to Melbourne after landing in Sydney on the first flight out of the trans-Tasman bubble on Friday.
She booked the flights through a travel agent as she was desperate to attend her father’s funeral in Melbourne.
Sue told 9News that the travel agent called the state’s Department of Internal Affairs and informed her that she could enter from New South Wales due to the open borders of Victoria.
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“I received the news that my father had passed away, so I wanted to come to Melbourne for the funeral,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure if I could come or not, so I went to a travel agency to book the flights.
“He called Internal Affairs and they told me I could go, so I booked the flight.”
When he arrived in Sydney, medical staff took his temperature and then made his way to the domestic terminal where he boarded a flight to Melbourne.
9news
There were tearful meetings at Sydney International Airport when the first flights from New Zealand disembarked.
Various Covid-19 regulations were announced on the flight.
Upon arrival, there was no border security preventing Sue from entering the state.
She didn’t know anything bad had happened until her husband called her after seeing a news report about New Zealanders infiltrating the state.
“I got text messages from my husband saying ‘did you make it or have you been arrested?’ And I said ‘what are you talking about?’
“We just didn’t know if they were going to ask me to isolate myself or if they would send me back. It was really stressful.”
Prime Minister Daniel Andrews was enraged today by the 65 Kiwis that entered from New South Wales, claiming that the state had been forced into a travel bubble they did not want to be part of.
“We’re not particularly happy that they asked us the question, do you want to be in a bubble? And it turns out that even though we said no, we are,” Andrews said.
But Sue reiterated today that they had done nothing wrong or broken any border restrictions.
“We came in good faith, the agreement was there,” he said.
“We are free from Covid, we have done everything right.
“We really want to be here, and it made us feel like criminals, that we had done something wrong.”
Of the 65 travelers, 55 have been touched by the authorities to have the Covid-19 state restrictions explained to them.
Sue said officials who visited her Saturday night were “nice” and just wanted to “check in.”
Andrews grudgingly admitted today that Victoria was now part of the trans-Tasmania travel bubble, whether they “agree or not.”
The state’s Department of Health and Human Services website says “Victoria’s borders are open” and New Zealand travelers do not need to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
“If you are traveling from New Zealand and have passed all relevant immigration and biosecurity requirements set out by the Federal Government, the Government of New South Wales and the Government of the Northern Territory, then you can travel to Victoria,” the website states.
This story was originally published on Nine news and republished with permission.
