After a caller revealed Jackie’s tragic story of being barred from farewelling her dying mother on-air yesterday, Mark Levy spoke to Western Australia’s Shadow Minister assisting in Health. 

Jackie made an emergency flight to Perth on Friday after she promised her dying mother she would be there to say goodbye.

But due to the unfolding lockdown in Brisbane, the Perth government made the decision to bar flights arriving from Brisbane, all while she was in the air.

On landing, she was told she could not go through the terminal and was held in a room for seven hours without food or water.

After six hours in the holding room, Jackie learned her mother had passed away.

Premier Mark McGowan declined an interview with Mark Levy, instead providing a statement from a state government spokesperson (full statement below).

Mark slammed the Premier’s refusal to put his name to the statement, which fails to address the “inhumane” treatment of passengers.

“No apology, no acknowledgement of what Jackie’s been through.

“It’s embarrassing.”

WA’s shadow health minister Tony Krsticevic told Mark Mr McGowan is “very good at shifting the blame”.

The opposition are calling for an independent inquiry into the state’s coronavirus response, which the Premier has refused.

“We’ve had numerous hotel quarantine breaches over here, our security was virtually non-existent, our emergency departments are at breaking point for no good reason, our ambulances are at gridlock, they’re turning people away from testing centres.

“This premier’s not doing anything about it.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Full statement from WA State Government spokesperson: 

“The WA border controls are in place to protect all Western Australians. It is the reason we have kept the virus out of our State, and has allowed life in WA to get back to a ‘COVID normal’, faster than the eastern states.

“Throughout the pandemic we have acknowledged that restrictions have placed some people under additional stress.

“We understand these concerns, but we have to act in the interest of the entire State. We are in a State of Emergency, doing everything we can to manage a global pandemic.

“There are exemptions for people who need to enter WA on compassionate grounds, which are managed by WA Police, on the advice of the Chief Health Officer.

“WA Police advise that they regularly liaise with Department of Health and seek input and advice from health professionals to assist in assessing any medical-related circumstances and information rovided to police.

“The WA Chief Health Officer’s current written health advice is clear. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, but will only adjust our border arrangements when the health advice says it is safe to do so.”

Image: Nine News