Glenelg South woman fined $407 after Yamba fruit fly question

An Adelaide woman is challenging a heavy fine after being shocked by the reaction to an innocent question while travelling back into SA.

Grey nomad Marianne Phillips is disputing a hefty fine after she tried to raise an “innocent query” as to whether she was allowed to bring two sealed punnets of tomatoes into SA during a border crossing check.

The 73-year-old from Glenelg South was slapped with a $407 fine when she tried to ask authorities if it was OK to be carrying the tomatoes at Yamba Border Crossing in May.

Mrs Phillips was travelling from Victoria back into the state in her motorhome and had disposed of all her fruit and vegetables at Swan Hill Caravan Park the night before, except for two punnets of sealed tomatoes.

“I appreciate that steps have to be put into place to stop any of this sort of thing coming in,” she said.

“But as we have experienced, we come in and out of the state certain times of the year and previously, we have always been able to query things on the border.

“The only reason I kept a punnet of tomatoes was because they were sealed and bought at a supermarket and, of course I get to the border, and they didn’t allow the query any longer,” Mrs Phillips said.

“We’ve come through Broken Hill numerous times before and there was never an issue in asking if it was all right and if it wasn’t, they confiscated it there and then which is not a problem at all.

Marianne Phillips received a hefty $407 fine after she wanted to query whether she was allowed to bring two sealed punnets of tomatoes into SA at Yamba Border Crossing. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“If we’re so concerned about (bringing in fruit and vegetables), how can you do something on one border crossings, and not have it applied to other border crossings?”

In 2019, the state government announced a zero-tolerance police to fruit entering through Yamba Quarantine Station, which Mrs Phillips said she was not aware of.

She claims she saw signs warning travellers to declare any fresh produce, but didn’t expect a query would be out the question, or merit an expensive fine.

“When you’re stopped at the checkpoint, they should be able to end especially with an innocent query, they shouldn’t be able to say right next time, don’t ever do it again, you’ve been warned,” she said.

“The unnecessary measures that they go through, you honestly and truly felt like a criminal sitting there.

“I call it interrogated, because that’s exactly how you felt, it’s totally unnecessary that sort of treatment.”

Mrs Phillips received an infringement notice six weeks after travelling through Yamba and submitted an appeal to waive the fine, only to be rejected another six weeks later.

Now she has two options, pay the fine by September 20 or take the matter to court.

“I’m not going to go through the anxiety of that,” she said.

“It’s just very sad, no one is given the benefit of the doubt any more. It’s just cut and dried.”

The Department of Primary Industries and Regions said a number of fruit and vegetable items are prohibited from entering the state.

“It is an offence to enter the state in possession of items that are restricted whether it be through a quarantine station or any other point of entry into the state,” a PIRSA spokesman said.

“People entering the state at Yamba face fines if they do not obey the clearly marked signs and dispose of their prohibited items at the designated bins.

“The road from Yamba gives direct access to the Riverland, which is the state’s largest fruit growing region.

“The responsibility is on travellers to ensure they check for and dispose of prohibited matter before attending the Yamba Quarantine Station.

“Numerous signs have been erected between the SA/Vic border alerting travellers to the changes in relation to Yamba.”

Travellers are encouraged to visit the PIRSA website for information about bring fruit and vegetable into the state.