The former head of Australia's COVID-19 advisory board is facing a possible jail term after he admitted flying into Western Australia in a helicopter without a G2G pass and then failing to quarantine for 14 days.
In October last year, Neville Power and his son, Nicholas, flew into the state from Queensland — where they had been mustering cattle on their family's outback station — but did not have the necessary G2G passes.
At the time, Queensland was categorised as a low-risk state, but travellers were still required to isolate for 14 days.
The two men first landed in Exmouth where they stayed one night and were recorded by CCTV cameras not wearing masks.
They flew to Perth's Jandakot Airport the next day and, again, were not wearing masks and did not make any attempt to quarantine.
The two men were interviewed the following day and directed to self-quarantine for 14 days.
They both returned negative COVID-19 tests.
Both men, and the company that owns the helicopter, were charged with three counts of failing to comply with a direction, but in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday one of the charges was dropped.
The father and son pleaded guilty to the two remaining charges, while the count against the company was adjourned to a later date.
These offences carry a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail or a $50,000 fine.
Prosecutor calls for jail term
While the police prosecutor described the offences as "wilful blindness" and called for a jail term to be imposed, the defence argued a fine was the appropriate penalty.
A number of references were provided to the court on behalf of the men, including one for Neville Power from his former employer, Andrew Forrest.
The pair's lawyer, Sam Vandongen, SC, described both men as "hardworking" and submitted they had felt compelled to return to Perth to deal with work commitments because they did not want to let anyone down.
Mr Vandongen said Neville Power had previously completed quarantine when returning from other trips and that had an "effect" on him which was outlined in a psychologist's report prepared for his defence team.
It was also pointed out the cattle station where they had come from was very isolated and while Neville Power had travelled through Brisbane to get there, he and his son had posed no risk to the community.
Mr Vandongen said both men were extremely remorseful, particularly Neville Power who, he claimed, had since withdrawn from society.
"There is an obvious contradiction, being on the committee that provided advice on how to find our way through this [virus] … [and then making] a decision not to comply with the requirements in place.
"It was a wrong decision made by someone who ought to have known better."
An application for what's called a spent conviction order was also made, which would mean the offences would not be recorded against them.
The court was told that Neville Power was on the boards of various bodies, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and if a conviction was recorded against him, he may have to withdraw from those positions, which could adversely affect both him and the community.
Both men are due to be sentenced on February 24.
In 2020, Neville Power was appointed by the Prime Minister as head of the National COVID-19 Commission Advisory Board when the pandemic first hit Australia.
