PUNISHMENTS handed down to a Victorian trio who breached COVID-19 border restrictions by entering the Riverland needed to be more severe, according to a local mayor.
Two men and a woman – one of whom claimed to need medical attention – travelling into South Australia from Victoria crossed through the Yamba Station checkpoint just after 5pm on Saturday, July 18.
After failing to attend a nominated medical facility, the trio was found and arrested by South Australian Police around 12.15pm on Sunday, July 19, in the Mawson Lakes area.
Renmark Paringa Council mayor Neil Martinson said rulings of the magistrates court – which saw the three fined between $3000 and $3600 each – needed to be more severe.
“It’s very disappointing,” Mr Martinson said.
“They haven’t really had to pay any cost at all, when you’ve got other people getting fined $1000 or whatever it is.
“It makes a mockery of the whole thing. I know they appeared before a magistrate, but you talk about a maximum fine of $20,000 and then we don’t even give them a $5000 fine.
“They should pay the same penalty as other people, at least, because it was such a deliberate act to lie like that to get through the border.”
The trio was then escorted back across the South Australian border by police on Monday night.
Mr Martinson said the incident was likely to end any consideration of a potential travel bubble between Mildura and the Riverland.
“We talk about a bubble between Renmark and Mildura for the sake of people travelling for medical purposes, then you get people that do this sort of thing,” he said.
“The situation has changed whereby Victoria has put a lockdown on so many hotspots in Melbourne.
“There’s an issue there that people still need medical services and the shorter time travel would certainly make it easier.
“The bubble is a great idea if people do the right thing, but people are just not doing the right thing and that’s the trouble. They muck it up for everybody else.”
People entering South Australia from interstate have been advised to apply online for pre-approval prior to reaching the border by completing a form at the SAPOL website (www.police.sa.gov.au).
An SA Pathology van able to conduct on-site COVID-19 testing has also been set up at Yamba Station.
Mr Martinson said stopping unauthorised travellers heading into the Riverland was vital to preventing another spread of COVID-19 in South Australia.
“They can only deal with a certain amount,” he said.
“We’ve got police patrols on the other roads that come into South Australia as well. They can only do the best they can.
“It’s the penalties that need to be issued out and they need to turn them around if it’s not essential travel or for medical purposes.
“We just don’t want the risk of what’s currently happening in Victoria to happen in South Australia.”