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This was published 4 years ago
Billionaire Kerry Stokes exempted from strict quarantine rules after arriving in Perth from Aspen by private jet
By Hamish Hastie and Nathan Hondros
WA Police gave billionaire mining and media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife an exemption from mandatory hotel quarantine rules on medical grounds after they returned to Perth from the United States on their private jet two weeks ago.
The exemption, granted by WA Police after advice from the State Health Incident Coordination Centre, meant Mr and Mrs Stokes could self-isolate in their Dalkeith home rather than be locked down in a hotel room like thousands of other West Australians returning from overseas.
Media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife Christine Simpson Stokes were both granted exemptions to WA's tough hotel quarantine rules.
WA Premier Mark McGowan used tough rhetoric at the end of March stating there would be no exemptions "for all Australians" to strict hotel quarantine rules.
The couple arrived in Perth on April 8 aboard their Bombardier BD-700 Global Express, which arrived from the United States and transited through Hawaii. The Sydney Morning Herald's CBD column reported just days after the quarantine rules came into force on March 28 that Mr Stokes had been locked down in Beaver Creek, Colorado, where he owns a $15 million penthouse, about 150 kilometres from the Aspen ski fields.
A spokesman said the couple was exempt from isolating in a hotel following their arrival in Perth because Mr Stokes had recently undergone a medical procedure.
"The exemption also applied to Mr Stokes' wife who accompanied him and they have been in isolation for two weeks at their home in Perth," he said. "Mr and Mrs Stokes strictly followed all the required protocols during that time, as did the air crew.
"Many thousands of Australians have also received exemptions over the last month."
The spokesman did not reveal details about the nature of the medical procedure that led to the exemption and said it was a private matter.
Kerry Stokes' riverfront mansion in Perth's billionaire suburb of Dalkeith.
When Mr McGowan announced the quarantine rules in WA on March 27, which were a decision of the National Cabinet, he said there would be no exemptions to the 14-day requirement. He said it was a rule "for all Australians coming home from overseas into any state across the country".
"There will be no exemptions on this," he said. "Any West Australians who are also still overseas and want to come back, they will not be allowed to go home – they will need to stay in self-isolation at Rottnest or a hotel.
"Any other Australians coming home from overseas into WA will also be self-isolated in a hotel or at Rottnest."
There were almost 1000 Australians locked up in Perth hotels in the first few days after the quarantine rules were put in place, including many who complained about the strictness of the measures.
One of them was Barry Preedy, who was COVID-19 positive but was refused permission to leave his hotel room to visit his wife Maureen as she died of the disease in a Perth hospital.
According to guidelines posted on the federal Health Department's website, there are exemptions available for crew, unaccompanied minors and diplomats as well as on compassionate and health grounds.
In a statement issued by the office of WA Police Minister Michelle Roberts, a state government spokesman said it was not appropriate to comment on any individual's personal circumstances.
"WA Police manage the exemption process and the State Health Incident Coordination Centre also advises that all exemption requirements were complied with in this particular case and it is consistent with other exemptions that have needed to be issued," he said.
A WA Health Department spokeswoman confirmed the centre was called on to give medical advice to police for Mr Stokes’ exemption application.
Under WA-specific quarantine rules the state’s police commissioner can grant exemptions on a case by case basis but evidence, such as a medical certificate, "may be required". WA Police refused to reveal why WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson granted Mr Stokes and his wife an exemption due to 'privacy reasons'.
When asked how many exemptions had been granted since the quarantine rules came into place in March the spokeswoman said from April 6 to 21 more than 3000 people had travelled to the state by aircraft and, of those, more than 900 had "self-quarantined" rather than being confined to a quarantine hotel. This number includes people who had arrived from interstate who are governed by less strict rules than international arrivals.
The spokeswoman said a breakdown of the number of exemptions granted on compassionate grounds was not available. Mr McGowan's office was contacted but referred questions to WA Police.