Canberra MLA Mark Parton fined $1000 for coronavirus breach - The Canberra Times

Canberra MLA Mark Parton has been fined $1000 for breaking COVID-19 restrictions. Mr Parton had already apologised after he "unwittingly breached" Western Australia's entry regulations for people who had been in NSW, which Mr Parton had by visiting Queanbeyan to call the Boxing Day races. WA Police would not comment on the case on Thursday, but Mr Parton has confirmed that he'd been fined $1000 for the breach. Canberra residents are free to travel to WA but under the state's border controls they must have not spent any time in NSW in the previous 14 days. READ MORE: The state also requires travellers from "very low-risk" states, such as the ACT, to quarantine for a fortnight if they "knowingly" had contact with someone from a low or medium-risk state, such as NSW, in the 14 days before arriving in WA. Mr Parton said on his Facebook page on Wednesday: "Two days ago, on Monday 4 January, I flew to Western Australia to visit my mum who lives in regional WA. "This afternoon, it came to my attention that I have unwittingly breached WA's border restrictions, due to spending a couple of hours just a few kms across the ACT border. "To be honest, it simply hadn't occurred to me that I had "traveled to NSW" when I flew into WA this week. Queanbeyan is just 10kms from my house and at the end of the day I tend to consider it as a suburb of Canberra. "When this came to my attention today, I immediately sought advice from the relevant authorities and am quarantining until I receive a response on next steps. "The crazy thing is that we cancelled New Years plans in Sydney to enable my WA travel. I feel pretty stupid. "I take COVID very seriously, and am very sorry for this oversight." A spokeswoman for WA Premier Mark McGowan's office late on Thursday said "on the face of it" Mr Parton appeared to have breached WA's border controls. "The rules need to be followed by everyone, they are in place to keep everyone safe," the spokeswoman said. "Members of Parliament should be setting the right example." The Canberra Times sought comment from Mr Parton on Thursday. A Canberra Liberals spokesman responded on his behalf, saying at the time he filled out his WA travel permit, it was true Mr Parton had not been in NSW in the previous 14 days. "However, a few weeks after lodging the application, he visited NSW less than 3km over the ACT border. Given the nature of the ACT/NSW border, it genuinely didn't occur to Mr Parton that he had 'travelled to NSW' when he arrived in WA," the spokesman said. "Since this has been brought to his attention, Mr Parton has sought advice from the authorities and is currently quarantining. "Mr Parton apologises for his error and is awaiting advice from the relevant authorities." Mr Parton is understood to be planning to leave WA on Sunday, but his travel plans will hinge on advice from local authorities. For faster access to the latest Canberra news, download The Canberra Times app for iOS and Android.

Canberra MLA Mark Parton has been fined $1000 for breaking COVID-19 restrictions.

WA Police would not comment on the case on Thursday, but Mr Parton has confirmed that he'd been fined $1000 for the breach.

Canberra residents are free to travel to WA but under the state's border controls they must have not spent any time in NSW in the previous 14 days.

READ MORE:

The state also requires travellers from "very low-risk" states, such as the ACT, to quarantine for a fortnight if they "knowingly" had contact with someone from a low or medium-risk state, such as NSW, in the 14 days before arriving in WA.

Mr Parton said on his Facebook page on Wednesday: "Two days ago, on Monday 4 January, I flew to Western Australia to visit my mum who lives in regional WA.

"This afternoon, it came to my attention that I have unwittingly breached WA's border restrictions, due to spending a couple of hours just a few kms across the ACT border.

"To be honest, it simply hadn't occurred to me that I had "traveled to NSW" when I flew into WA this week. Queanbeyan is just 10kms from my house and at the end of the day I tend to consider it as a suburb of Canberra.

"When this came to my attention today, I immediately sought advice from the relevant authorities and am quarantining until I receive a response on next steps.

"The crazy thing is that we cancelled New Years plans in Sydney to enable my WA travel. I feel pretty stupid.

"I take COVID very seriously, and am very sorry for this oversight."

A spokeswoman for WA Premier Mark McGowan's office late on Thursday said "on the face of it" Mr Parton appeared to have breached WA's border controls.

"The rules need to be followed by everyone, they are in place to keep everyone safe," the spokeswoman said.

"Members of Parliament should be setting the right example."

The Canberra Times sought comment from Mr Parton on Thursday.

A Canberra Liberals spokesman responded on his behalf, saying at the time he filled out his WA travel permit, it was true Mr Parton had not been in NSW in the previous 14 days.

"However, a few weeks after lodging the application, he visited NSW less than 3km over the ACT border. Given the nature of the ACT/NSW border, it genuinely didn't occur to Mr Parton that he had 'travelled to NSW' when he arrived in WA," the spokesman said.

"Since this has been brought to his attention, Mr Parton has sought advice from the authorities and is currently quarantining.

"Mr Parton apologises for his error and is awaiting advice from the relevant authorities."

Mr Parton is understood to be planning to leave WA on Sunday, but his travel plans will hinge on advice from local authorities.

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2021-01-07 22:25:00Z
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