Paramedic Scott Fogarty raced from Sydney to Wagga on Monday, after his wife and children were told they could not board their flight to the Philippines. 

He said it was thanks to Michael McCormack’s office the crisis was averted. 

“Sometimes you feel as a little person your voice is rarely heard,” Mr Fogarty said. “But today I felt like I was listened to.” 

Mr Fogarty still shook as he recounted his tale.

Wagga nurse Josefina Fogarty had saved for more than a year, working overtime to afford something special to celebrate her 40^th birthday. 

“(Josefina) wanted to spend her birthday with her twin sister in the Philippines,” he said. “She was also supposed to be taking the family to Disneyland in Hong Kong.”

With tickets booked and everything arranged, Mr Fogarty drove his wife and two sons to Sydney to see them off. 

Even though Mrs Fogarty’s passport was still current and recently used, it contained her maiden name, which was different to her sons’ surnames and the surname on her driver’s licence.

Mrs Fogarty – formerly Alcantara – was told she could not board the plane without her son’s birth certificates.  

“We’ve been married for years,” Mr Fogarty said. “I even explained the story to the supervisor and I showed her my driver’s licence.”

Mr Fogarty raced back to Wagga and “turned the house upside down” to find the documents but was only able to access a copy of one son’s through school records. 

He was sent to Commins Hendriks in Coolamon to have it verified, when he met director, Bill Thompson.

Mr Thompson referred Mr Fogarty to the federal MP’s office.

“Mr McCormack’s staff worked tirelessly most of the day to try and rectify the situation,” Mr Fogarty said. “He called the department of foreign affairs and other agencies and we’ve ended up with a positive result.”

Mr Fogarty wanted to thank everyone who helped him and his family, including Mr Thompson, who charged him nothing. 

“I’m lost for words ... it’s been quite overwhelming,” he said. “It’s made a terrible experience turn into something positive.”

Mr McCormack said he never expected publicity for helping his constituents.