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Sickening twist after kids granted permission to see dying father

A NSW family desperate to see their dying father in Brisbane will reportedly have to fork out $16,000 in quarantine hotel fees.

Mark Keans, 39, has terminal brain cancer and remains in hospital but his four children, who are all under the age of 13, are in Sydney.

Mr Keans’ story made national headlines on Thursday when it was reported only one of his kids would be able to visit before he died.

However, the kids have all since been granted permission to see their dad one last time in Brisbane.

According to 7News, the kids will be able to see Mr Keans but the family will have to pay $16,000 for their own quarantine. Queensland Health has been contacted by Yahoo News Australia for clarification.

Mark Keans, 39, pictured with his four kids.
Mark Keans, 39, will get to say goodbye to his four kids in Queensland. Source: Today Show/ Nine Network

According to Queensland Health, it costs $4,620 for two adults and two children to go into hotel quarantine.

“My wife turned around and says, so what you’re expecting us to pay is more money to visit him than what it’s going to cost to bury him,” Mr Keans’ father, Bruce Langborne, told 7News.

Mr Langborne said his son isn’t expected to make it to Christmas.

"As much as we want to see him… the main purpose is to try and get his kids up to see him, and get them to see him before he gets bedridden and full of morphine and doesn't understand what's happening,” Mr Langborne told the ABC.

"I want them to remember him as someone who's still vibrant and alive."

Queensland has strict border policies in place to stop the spread of coronavirus.

In a statement to Yahoo News Australia, a Queensland Health spokesperson said they “sympathise” with Mr Keans’ family’s situation.

“We understand and sympathise that this is a very difficult time and there are challenges,” the spokesperson said.

“We are in the midst of a global pandemic and we need to protect our communities, especially the most vulnerable members of the community.

“Queensland’s current border restrictions are in place for one purpose – to save lives. We understand the health directions in place are strict, but they are designed to protect Queenslanders from COVID-19.”

A general view of the barricades on Dixon Street in Coolangatta, Australia.
A border closure in place in Coolangatta, Queensland. Source: Getty Images

PM’s pleas over funeral ban

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday pleaded with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to relax border restrictions on compassionate grounds.

It came after a Canberra woman said she wouldn’t be able to go to her dad’s funeral.

"It was Father's Day on the weekend ... In this midst of all this heartache surely just this once this can be done,” the PM told 2GB.

Ms Palaszczuk lashed out at Mr Morrison in state parliament after Liberal National Party leader Deb Frecklington asked her about the case, accusing the opposition of taking part in a coordinated campaign with the prime minister's office.

"It is absolutely not acceptable for the leader of the opposition to do what she is doing today; a coordinated campaign with the prime minister's office is disgusting and it is demeaning," she said.

"I would hope that the prime minister would work in a co-operative matter with everyone across this country and this divisiveness, and these fights, and this intimidation, and this bullying is the worst I've ever seen in my lifetime."

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