Late last year, Australia's international border was finally edged open, prompting reunions and relief at airports around the country.
Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne, Australia as seen on 29 November 2021. Photo: AFP
But as images of families tearfully embracing were beamed across morning news programs, Emma Cochrane couldn't bring herself to watch.
The mother of two and her chef husband have called Perth home since 2018, and are on a bridging visa as they wait for their permanent residency to be processed.
Bridging visa B holders are not included in the list of people allowed to freely enter and return to Australia, which includes citizens, permanent residents, international students, and backpackers.
There is also a travel bubble with Singapore, Japan and South Korea.
"We're, in effect, stuck in limbo land," Cochrane told 7.30.
"We can't get our family here, and we can't go see our family overseas.
"I can't risk going overseas and risk getting stuck. My husband's got a job here; his company relies on him to come back to Australia."
Should she leave Australia to visit family in England, Cochrane would need to apply for an exemption to get back in - something most other visa holders do not have to do.
She has applied 14 times for exemptions to both leave and to have her triple-vaccinated parents come to Australia.
All of the exemption requests have been denied.
"I'm frustrated and annoyed that bridging visa holders aren't included in this," she told 7.30.
"Australia risks losing skills, critical skills ... because they're being so inflexible with this exemption. It just doesn't make any sense to me."
Case for fortress Australia 'much weaker'
Home Affairs told 7.30 that remaining travel restrictions "balance the need to safely reopen ... with the need to protect Australians from Covid-19."
The statement also said border policies have contributed to low death rates, a strong economy, and high vaccination rates.
Fully vaccinated tourists - who may be the relatives or friends of Australian citizens and residents - also aren't allowed into Australia.
Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a Brisbane radio station he hoped the international border would be opened to tourists "well before Easter".
Sydney University Professor and former race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane said closed borders do not make as much sense as they once did at the start of the pandemic.
"With a highly vaccinated population, with vaccines that are proven to provide strong protection, the case for fortress Australia has become much weaker," Soutphommasane told 7.30.
"Our society [has] been built by migration and migrants make an important contribution to our economy, to our society, indeed to our culture.
"If we keep our borders closed, if we prolong this fortress Australia stance, we do risk becoming a pariah in the international community."
Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett argued the risk from people arriving from overseas had significantly lowered as the Omicron variant spreads.
"If you are talking about the border as a levee wall, and you've got as much water on the other side... it doesn't make a difference to the risk for the individual or to the countries as long as we're still monitoring people who aren't vaccinated," Bennett said.
For Emma Cochrane, she does not want her daughters to grow up not recognising or knowing their grandparents.
"Life's too short. I'm glad Australia's moving in the right direction, it's just not quick enough and it seems like it's leaving people out."
- ABC
