Hayden Burbank, Mark Babbage due to face court over AFL trip
From high society to jail cell: reality bites high-flying mates who allegedly lied to border authorities to go to the AFL Grand Final.
From Melbourne’s upper crust to a jail cell in Perth, the descent has been swift for two mates who allegedly lied to border authorities to go to the AFL Grand Final.
The social media accounts of cocktail bar owner Hayden Burbank, 49, and financial planner Mark Babbage, 39, reveal a life of carefree luxury a world away Perth‘s Magistrate Court, where they appeared video videolink and did not apply for bail.
Mr Burbank has documented a life spent rubbing VIP shoulders and drinking champagne on his Facebook page as well as several posts critical of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and lockdown.
Earlier this year he posted a video of himself from the celebrity holiday destination Byron Bay while he appears alongside then foreign minister Julie Bishop and champion runner Usain Bolt in a photo posted November 2017.
Ms Bishop said she remembered meeting Bolt but had no memory of meeting Mr Burbank, saying she had met thousands of people during her time as Foreign Minister.
“The photograph appears to have been taken at the Melbourne Cup in 2017, and I well recall meeting Usain Bolt and being in a series of photographs with him,” she said.
“I have no recollection of the other person in that photograph at that time.”
Owner of Morris Jones in the South Melbourne suburb of Prahran, Mr Burbank posted himself painting the swish venue in the red and blue of his beloved Demons on his now closed Instagram account.
The former student of Melbourne Grammar and Carey Baptist Grammar, Mr Burbank on August 17 posted a video with the caption: “To the uneducated and selfish Karen’s still out there, I’ll just leave this here #nojabnoplay.”
Both Mr Burbank and Mr Babbage were photographed at a grand final eve luncheon at Perth Crown, which was also attended by AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan.
The two old boys each face three charges of providing false information to border authorities after they were arrested on Tuesday in Bunker Bay, Naturaliste, about 260km southwest of Perth after WA Police released their images in an appeal for information.
They were with a woman who was not arrested and both men have tested negative for Covid-19.
WA Police allege Mr Burbank and Mr Babbage arrived in Perth from the Northern Territory last Wednesday after telling WA authorities they had permission to enter without quarantining.
Mr Babbage, who describes himself as “AKA McLovin” on his Instagram page, has posted snaps of himself at Mount Hotham and a video of himself jumping off a yacht in the Whitsundays and partying in the Colorado ski town of Aspen.
In one photo, Mr Babbage is pictured with two women, with the caption saying: “McLoVin on the prow [sic]” and in another image, with two men, he says “Mogul Time”.
Mr Babbage is the managing director of Babbage Finance, which has the same Hawthorn address as his father’s accountancy firm Babbage & Co.
His father Jim Babbage reportedly said his son lives in Mount Hotham and completed two weeks of quarantine in the NT but has not returned The Australian’s request for comment.
Mr Babbage junior lists his primary address in Portsea, according to company records.
According to Mr Babbage’s LinkedIn page, he attended Xavier College and has been the treasurer of the Young Members Committee at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club for nearly a decade.
The Dees broke a 50-year drought to claim the Grand Final premiership on the weekend against the Western Bulldogs when the vast majority of their loyal supporters were deep in Melbourne’s sixth lockdown.
Mr Burbank and Mr Babbage were photographed inside the Demons change room alongside midfielder Alex Neal-Bullen after the match wearing a guernsey and holding a beer.
Mr Burbank and Mr Babbage will remain in jail until their next court appearance on October 13, according to reports.
They each face a $50,000 fine and 12-months in jail.
More Coverage
‘Holy grail’ fish discovery comes with one big catch
The discovery of a rare, untapped, abundant and delicious food source off Australia’s southern coast is quickly shaping as an unsavoury battle.
Marles pays US an AUKUS advance
Australia has made its first AUKUS down payment to the US as the Albanese government looks to lock-in Trump administration support for the submarine program.