A pregnant mum and her son, who has a broken arm, has been denied access to their Queensland doctors.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It all comes down to having the wrong postcode.
Meg and Rowen Tighe live "smack bang half way between Goondiwindi and Moree" at Bonnie Downs, 10km from Croppa Creek.
Meg is 25-weeks pregnant and receives antenatal care in Goondiwindi.
She planned to have her baby in Goondiwindi. Or at least she did.
New Queensland border restrictions which are decided by postcode means that Meg can no longer enter Goondiwindi or Queensland.
The situation has become even worse after her son Jack, 9, was involved in an accident which broke his arm two weeks ago.
Initially they contacted a Tamworth orthopedic clinic for advice.
But, "to date we are still waiting on a call back," Meg said.
The Tighes use Goondiwindi as their main centre for health services.
"With the struggle of getting medical appointments in Moree we go to Goondiwindi," she said.
Unable to get quick access to treatment in NSW, the family was able to get in to see a specialist in Brisbane.
"He underwent surgery and is due to go back to see the surgeon next Tuesday. - Now we can't get across the border," she said.
And it doesn't stop there.
"Our farming business relies on services of both Moree and Goondiwindi. Our truck is due to get repairs done in Goondiwindi on Wednesday as there is no Mack Dealer in Moree.
"We were going to replace roll over tarps prior to harvest at Toms Tarps.
"Yet again I was told agriculture is not classed as an essential service and we weren't eligible for a pass. All of our grain commodities go to Queensland.
"The most ridiculous thing of course is you are missing the fact that many rural farming communities spend practically 12 months of the year in isolation, yet now we are tarnished with the same brush as those in actual city hotspots.
"We don't go to the grocery shop every day, we shop once a fortnight generally, only go to town for the necessities, yet here we are being excluded from those services."
Meg has written to the Queensland Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jeannette Young expressing her concerns.
"Take a drive out and see where our communities lie and the services provided. You city folk don't realize what is at your finger tips, farming is not a lifestyle to us, it's our career and it keeps food on everyone's table," she said in the letter.
