In 2020, Western Australia’s COVID-era border restrictions kept two couples apart: Rhonda Wyllie and Jeffrey Browne, and Julie Bishop and David Panton. PerthNow reported that Wyllie and Browne had been separated for six weeks by late August, while Bishop and Panton had not seen each other for six months. These are snapshots from news coverage published in August and September 2020, not accounts of the couples’ circumstances today.
Two couples, two reported separations
PerthNow’s 29 August 2020 report described two couples dealing with separation across state borders. Wyllie was in Western Australia and Browne was in Sydney; Bishop was in Perth and Panton was in Sydney. The reported periods apart were different, and the coverage should be read as a record of those individuals’ experiences at that time—not as a measure of how all families experienced border restrictions.
| Couple | What PerthNow reported in 2020 |
|---|---|
| Rhonda Wyllie and Jeffrey Browne | Six weeks apart as of the 29 August report; Browne was in Sydney and Wyllie in Western Australia. PerthNow, 29 August 2020. |
| Julie Bishop and David Panton | Six months apart as reported on 29 August; a 30 September follow-up said Bishop was based in Perth and Panton in Sydney since the outbreak began in March 2020. PerthNow, 30 September 2020. |
Why Wyllie and Browne remained apart
The August report said Browne divided his time among Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. During the separation, Wyllie told AAA Weekend that he would not return for a family funeral because he could not isolate. PerthNow quoted her saying, “Jeff’s not going to come back for the funeral because he can’t isolate,” followed by, “It is what it is.”
Wyllie and Browne had married at her Murray River Farm in Coolup on 31 March 2018, according to PerthNow’s wedding coverage. That report described Wyllie as an executive director of the Wyllie Group and Browne as a former Nine Network Australia managing director. PerthNow, 1 April 2018.
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How Bishop and Panton stayed in touch
A 30 September 2020 follow-up reported that Bishop and Panton had been based in Perth and Sydney, respectively, since the COVID-19 outbreak began in March. They used video calls. Bishop said she wanted to visit Sydney when borders reopened and described the travel barriers in the terms reported at the time: “We FaceTime. It isn’t great but it is all you can do because he can’t get in here (WA) and I can’t go there without having to get an exemption.”
She also said, “It is very difficult but I know a lot of families have been separated in this way, it is challenging.” Her observation conveys her own view; the reports do not provide data establishing the scale or typical effects of separation across the population.
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Wyllie’s account of coping
The August article said Wyllie spent time with friends and travelled to Broome. It also recounted her joking about bonding with Bishop over being apart and enjoying having the bed to themselves. These details are personal anecdotes from the report, not evidence about how other couples or families coped.
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What the reports establish—and what they do not
- PerthNow reported six weeks of separation for Wyllie and Browne and six months for Bishop and Panton in its 29 August 2020 coverage.
- The September follow-up described Bishop and Panton’s Perth–Sydney separation and their use of video calls.
- The coverage records the named people’s circumstances and attributed comments in 2020. It does not establish their current relationships, residences or travel arrangements, nor does it quantify the broader effects of the restrictions.
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