“Who owns the banana?” Wonthaggi's Maddy Harford and Harry Freeman found themselves on the wrong side of the law when they crossed the border.
By Maddy Harford
HAVING felt our way through a dust storm north of Mildura, where we sometimes couldn’t see the car right in front of us, we came upon a quarantine disposal point, just inside SA, requiring us to divest ourselves of the beautiful fruit we bought earlier. Fronting up to the quarantine station a kilometre further on, a chap with ostentatious diamond stud earrings went through the car and trailer assiduously and found a banana that Harry missed when cleaning out the esky.
Standing before us, the officer asked: “Who owns this banana?”
M&H (in unison): “Both of us.”
“I will ask again: who owns this?”
M&H: “Oh, for god’s sake, you’re not serious?”
“Who bought the banana?”
H: “OK (I’ll play your silly game) I did.”
“Please provide your driver’s licence.”
Once H’s licence was in his hands, the officer then directed us to drive the car through the checkpoint to a side lane where Harry was directed into an interview room and read his rights (literally like in the movies).
H: “Am I under arrest?”
H’s rights were repeated. “Do you understand?”
“OK. Yes, I understand.”
There followed a series of questions, starting with “What was the intended use of the banana?” and followed by several equally laughable queries "Do you have a plant import licence? Do you have a ministerial exemption?" (You had to give him his due, he did find it difficult to keep a straight face at times.)
“SA is fruit fly free and wants to stay that way. The Minister has instituted a policy of zero tolerance” he said.
Harry reiterated several times that he accidentally missed the banana when he was emptying the rest of the fruit.
The officer laboriously completed two sides of a form, detailing time, date, location of offence (where the banana was found) and Harry’s statement, acknowledging the importance of quarantine in the fight against fruit fly but pleading accidental offending. He then proceeded to photograph the form, the banana and Harry’s licence, separately and together.
The paperwork now goes to Adelaide for The Minister to decide on action. Harry may be put on a community corrections order. Perhaps he could negotiate his work order to be at Bass Coast Adult Learning.
Watch this space …!
HAVING felt our way through a dust storm north of Mildura, where we sometimes couldn’t see the car right in front of us, we came upon a quarantine disposal point, just inside SA, requiring us to divest ourselves of the beautiful fruit we bought earlier. Fronting up to the quarantine station a kilometre further on, a chap with ostentatious diamond stud earrings went through the car and trailer assiduously and found a banana that Harry missed when cleaning out the esky.
Standing before us, the officer asked: “Who owns this banana?”
M&H (in unison): “Both of us.”
“I will ask again: who owns this?”
M&H: “Oh, for god’s sake, you’re not serious?”
“Who bought the banana?”
H: “OK (I’ll play your silly game) I did.”
“Please provide your driver’s licence.”
Once H’s licence was in his hands, the officer then directed us to drive the car through the checkpoint to a side lane where Harry was directed into an interview room and read his rights (literally like in the movies).
H: “Am I under arrest?”
H’s rights were repeated. “Do you understand?”
“OK. Yes, I understand.”
There followed a series of questions, starting with “What was the intended use of the banana?” and followed by several equally laughable queries "Do you have a plant import licence? Do you have a ministerial exemption?" (You had to give him his due, he did find it difficult to keep a straight face at times.)
“SA is fruit fly free and wants to stay that way. The Minister has instituted a policy of zero tolerance” he said.
Harry reiterated several times that he accidentally missed the banana when he was emptying the rest of the fruit.
The officer laboriously completed two sides of a form, detailing time, date, location of offence (where the banana was found) and Harry’s statement, acknowledging the importance of quarantine in the fight against fruit fly but pleading accidental offending. He then proceeded to photograph the form, the banana and Harry’s licence, separately and together.
The paperwork now goes to Adelaide for The Minister to decide on action. Harry may be put on a community corrections order. Perhaps he could negotiate his work order to be at Bass Coast Adult Learning.
Watch this space …!