MORE people have been hit in the hip pocket with hefty fines as a crackdown on non-essential travel rules continues.
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People in Qurindi, Inverell, Narrabri and Glen Innes are the latest this week on top of others in Tamworth to be fined $1000 for being in breach of the state's public health orders.
On Tuesday, a 25-year-old woman was slugged the $1000 penalty infringement notice (PIN) for being away from home without a reasonable excuse.
It wasn't the first run-in with police, either. Oxley police said the woman had been warned multiple times not to leave home unless for one of the essential reasons.
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On this occasion, she was stopped on the road from Quirindi to Tamworth. When she was stopped, she had two male passengers in the car but could not provide an essential reason for travelling.
Two others were also slugged in Narrabri after failing to comply with the rules, police said.
Just before midnight on Monday, New England police stopped a silver Navara 4WD in Mulligan Street, Inverell, for a random breath test.
Police claim the same vehicle had been spotted throughout the night on multiple occasions driving around the Inverell CBD.
Officers questioned the 24-year-old Inverell man behind the wheel and checks revealed "he had been given multiple warnings in relation to breaching essential travel requirements due to COVID-19 restrictions".
"The driver was unable to provide a reasonable excuse as to why he was driving around at that time of night," New England Chief Inspector Rowan O'Brien said.
"He was subsequently issued with a $1000 penalty notice for failing to abide by ministerial directions under the Public Health Act."
In Glen Innes, police stopped a car about 12.30am on Tuesday and spoke with the driver.
The 49-year-old man "was unable to provide a reasonable excuse" for being away from his home in Queensland, police said.
Checks revealed the man had been stopped by police two days earlier and was warned about breaching the health orders and directed to return home across the border.
He was issued a $1000 fine.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
