Travel company fined $5000 for sending three buses of tourists to Dubbo Zoo
A travel company has been fined after a bizarre lockdown breach in which police were called to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, where more than 100 people were waiting to enter.
Police have revealed a travel company owner knowingly defied Sydney’s Covid-19 lockdown and sent three busloads of tourists from Sydney to Taronga Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo on Monday.
The travel company was slapped with a $5000 fine for breaching a public health order after taking 128 people, including staff and guests, to Dubbo Zoo – despite knowing at least 76 people on the buses were prohibited from travelling outside Greater Sydney.
Police confirmed to NCA NewsWire that none of the guests on the buses were fined.
State Emergency Operations Controller, Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys, said the company owner told police he was aware of the public health orders but decided to continue the tour as planned anyway.
“But the staff at the zoo did exactly the right thing – they isolated the risk and alerted police. They did a great job to protect the local community,” Deputy Commissioner Worboys said.
Staff at the zoo refused to allow the travellers off the buses and called the police.
Officers from Orana Mid-Western Police District attended and spoke to tour operators, establishing that the group had left Sydney on Friday, June 25 – before Sydney’s lockdown.
The group had continued to travel throughout regional NSW after the public health orders were updated on Saturday, which plunged greater Sydney into a stay-at-home order from 6pm that day.
The guests were directed to return home immediately and the tour company was fined.
As investigations into further possible breaches continue, Police Minister David Elliott said it was disappointing a large number of breaches of the public health orders occurred on Monday.
“I would appeal to everyone to not only follow the rules but use your common sense and do your bit to help NSW beat this virus,” he said.
The travel company was among 34 public infringement notices handed out by police across NSW.
A violent incident was among the PINs issued on Monday when a man and woman were charged with offences including assault after allegedly refusing to check in with a QR code while entering a restaurant at Forster, on the state’s mid-north coast.
Just after 7pm, the couple attended the Wharf Street restaurant, where staff asked them to sign in using a QR code.
The couple refused and were informed they would have to leave if they failed to comply.
Police will allege the man refused for a second time before picking up a bottle of water and throwing it against a wall, smashing it.
He was escorted from the restaurant before allegedly punching the restaurant’s owner, a 39-year-old man.
The owner sustained facial injuries and a suspected broken nose and was taken to Manning Base Hospital.
The woman also allegedly bit a 44-year-old man who tried to intervene, causing bleeding and bruising to his bicep.
Officers from the Manning/Great Lakes Police District arrested the couple a short time after they left the restaurant before taking them to Forster Police Station.
The 34-year-old man was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, intimidation and malicious damage.
The 27-year-old woman was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Both were granted conditional bail and are expected to appear in Forster Local Court on July 28.
They were each issued $1000 PINs for failing to comply with noticed direction re: section 7/8/9 – COVID-19.
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