Pass knock-back is funeral heartbreak

A BEREAVED daughter has NAVARONE been left distraught FARRELL and with her “mental health in the gutter” after her G2G pass to attend her father’s funeral was rejected.

Louise Paine, 37, moved from Tasmania to Melbourne in 2008 for work.

Her father passed away suddenly earlier this month and after a fort night of trying to enter the state on compassionate grounds, she was ultimately refused.

Ms Paine said her G2G pass was rejected because she needed more paperwork and documents, leading her to believe it would be approved.

The State Control Centre also organised her a COVID-19 test when she arrived, also giving her hope her pass would be approved.

But the night before her father’s funeral — September 20 — she was given her third and final rejection.

She wasn’t allowed to enter the state because she was from a hotspot: Victoria.

Ms Paine said there needed to be greater accountability and scrutiny in the G2G pass process, especially for compassion ate grounds.

“It’s a very important thing to be able to say goodbye to a relative properly and grieve with your family but they don’t just seem to be interested in that ,” she said.

“If (the process) was a lot clearer, that sense of false hope — or false expectation —that I was feeling throughout the process wouldn’t have been fuelled.

“The impact that has on your mental health and your own experience … it affects everyone around you as well .”

Ms Paine’s father, David Porthouse, died suddenly from a series of health problems at 66. The pair became close towards the end of his life.

“Dad had passed away without a will and without a lot of money and assets so we just kept the funeral very small and private,” Ms Paine said.

She watched the funeral, which she said was basic, lasting only 20 minutes at Corn el ian Bay, by live stream, joined by relatives from South Australia.

During the funeral Ms Paine said she was just sitting, watching, thinking how she couldn’t be there to put some flowers on the grave, or touch the coffin.

“It was that real sense of absence and the pain of not being there and never having that moment again ,” she said.

She now said her only wish is to highlight the lack of “common sense” around the process and the dire effect it can have on people.

According to the State Control Centre since the introduction of the G2G pass on July 16, 178 applications have been approved for people who have travelled to Tasmania from other states to leave quarantine to attend funerals.

“That approval comes with strict conditions such as a requirement to wear a mask and return to quarantine immediately after the funeral ,” an SCC spokesperson said.

“People who have been in coronavirus hot spots in the previous 14 days can apply for a compassionate exemption to be allowed to enter Tasmania.

“If granted permission to enter Tasmania, due to the risk they pose, advice is taken from Public Health as to whether they should be granted an exemption to leave quarantine for any purpose, including attending funerals.”