More than 3000 SA people seeking to have fruit fly fines overturned, amid confusion over ‘zero tolerance’ quarantine rules

Thousands of people hit with fines for bringing fruit into SA want them overturned – many drivers were told they should have ditched the contraband sooner.

• State Govt to net $5m in fines from fruit fly crackdown
• There has been a major fruit fly outbreak in SA this year

More than 3000 people hit with fines for bringing fruit into SA have sought to have them overturned amid claims of mass confusion over a “zero tolerance” pest crackdown.

State Government figures released on request to The Advertiser show 9883 fines have been issued for fruit detected at Yamba quarantine station – and 3130 of those have been challenged.

The huge rate of people fighting the fines comes after widespread complaints that travellers who sought to voluntarily hand over fruit at the checkpoint were instead told it was too late and that they should have disposed of it before arriving at Yamba in the Riverland.

One furious Victorian, David Barton, is refusing to pay his $375 fine, which has now escalated with penalties, and is seeking legal advice about launching a class action.

Of the fines contested, only 248 have been successfully overturned. They can reach as high as $100,000, depending on the breach, and can also be issued at random roadblocks.

Victorian David Barton was given a fine for trying to hand over fruit at the Yamba fruit fly station but is refusing to pay it.

Former Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Tim Whetstone – who resigned from cabinet on Sunday – brought in the zero-tolerance border policy last year, after a worrying Queensland fruit-fly outbreak at Loxton.

The government says the move has helped stop the bug coming into SA from the east and is now considering expanding the policy to block Mediterranean fruit fly from the west.

There are currently seven different Mediterranean fruit-fly outbreaks in metropolitan Adelaide, mostly in the inner north, and 250 suburbs remain under biosecurity controls.

Last year, a whistleblower revealed to the Sunday Mailthat serious concerns had been raised about readiness for the zero-tolerance scheme before launch in January 2019.

Speaking before his resignation as minister, Mr Whetstone said SA must fiercely protect its $1.3bn horticulture industry.

“It can only take one piece of infested fruit to cause devastation,” he said.

“We make no apologies for doing everything we can to defend SA against fruit fly. There are zero strikes and zero excuses for bringing fresh fruit and vegetables into SA, with ample warnings set up leading into the random roadblocks locations and at Yamba.”

A fruit fly inspection roadblock at Yamba quarantine station.

An officer log book from Yamba revealed major issues with vehicle backlogs, dangerous driving and signs. The government has since spent $2 million upgrading infrastructure and says clear warnings and public education messages have left no excuses for people who fail to comply.

Fresh produce seized at Yamba dropped from 27 tonnes in 2018 to 13 tonnes in 2019 after zero tolerance was brought in, a sign the government says shows the tough policy works. Independent MP Frances Bedford is putting a proposal to parliament to change the rules for fines so that confused people seeking to do the right thing get leniency.

“They are using this sledgehammer on everybody,” she said. “There is no way to have a little lady with a tomato treated any differently to anybody smuggling a case full of avocadoes in.”

Labor MP Blair Boyer said the number of people seeking reviews of their fines “lays bare how poorly this zero-tolerance policy was implemented”.

In a budget update last year, the government predicted it would net $4.9m from zero-tolerance fruit fly fines in the 12 months to June.