An exemption has now been granted by the Victorian government for a five-week-old baby to attend the funeral of a Melbourne electrician who was tragically killed on the job last week.
The heartbroken family of a young electrician this morning pleaded for his five-week-old baby to be excluded from Victoria's strict 10-person funeral count.
Melbourne man Jarrod Fox died after being electrocuted while working at a Ringwood home in the city's outer-east last week.
Jarrod Fox's devastated mother Cheryl Fox told 3AW's Neil Mitchell this morning the state government had rejected their pleas for an exemption, despite baby Jasper needing to be with his mother.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews later announced an exemption had been granted, with plans for children under the age of one to be exempt in all cases for funerals.
"As many of you would know, last week, tragically, an electrician was killed at work. He and his partner have two young children, a two-year-old and a five week old. His funeral will be on Friday," said Mr Andrews.
"I just want to confirm that when it comes to the calculation of the 10 mourners for the funeral this Friday, the five -week-old baby, who is a dependent, will not be counted as part of the 10 and we will have some more to say about trying to broaden that rule out for all funerals for babies under one year."
Ms Fox later told 3AW the first she knew of the exemption was when she head about it in today's media conference but said she was "so so appreciative" of the change and that one layer of the pain" has been removed.
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In an emotional call to 3AW this morning, Mrs Fox said authorities had shown "no compassion" during her family's time of grief.
"We have contacted Brett Sutton's office to ask for an exemption because he is being breastfed," she said.
"All we got back was a generic email that had a reference number on it and just listed all the rules and said no.
"We are just a number. There is no compassion, there is no consideration."https://omny.fm/shows/mornings-with-neil-mitchell/familys-heartbreaking-plea-for-funeral-exemption-f/embed?style=cover
Under Victoria's lockdown restrictions, a maximum of 10 people can attend funerals in the state.
Police have been patrolling services to ensure the limit is being adhered to, with officers also monitoring cemeteries during burials.
Mrs Fox said hiring a babysitter or carer to look after the baby would be no better, as it would involve more contact with another person outside the household.
"It's so traumatic. We want his children there. I am just begging can someone give us some compassion."
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