A former technology company CEO and three mates who were fined after they snuck into Queensland from coronavirus-ravaged Sydney on a superyacht to watch the rugby will likely avoid further punishment.
Millionaire businessman Jeromy Young, 44, and three friends left Newport on Sydney's northern beaches on his 34.5 metre charter superyacht Dreamtime on July 6. Authorities said the party sailed north, crossed the border and docked on the Gold Coast the following day.
The men then allegedly declared on their border passes they hadn't been in a Covid hotspot before going straight to the Australian Wallabies rugby union Test match against France at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.
Mr Young is now in hotel quarantine on the Gold Coast with the rest of his party after Queensland Water Police and Maritime Safety officers tracked the group down.
Each of the men have been fined more than $4000 but are unlikely to be punished further, despite growing public outrage over the alleged Covid breach.
Former technology company boss Jeromy Young (pictured) will escape further punishment from Queensland authorities after he and his friends were fined $4,000 each
'I don't think there is a way to means test penalties to make the penalty an appropriate deterrent in these circumstances,' Queensland deputy premier Steven Miles said on Wednesday.
'$4000 is still a pretty big fine for most of us and it would certainly be a deterrent for me.
'You've also got to remember these people now have to spend two weeks in hotel quarantine and as much as we try to make hotel quarantine as comfortable as possible it's certainly nothing like sitting on a superyacht.'
A day earlier, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the situation was disappointing.
“We do not want people coming here breaking the law, pure and simple,” she said on Tuesday.
“It is extremely disappointing to see that happen.”
The group have returned negative Covid tests so far in hotel quarantine.
Until recently, Mr Young ran the ASX-listed audio-visual business Atomos, a company he co-founded which sells electronic equipment.
He stepped back from the position in February but remains a senior member of staff.
Jeromy Young, the former CEO of tech company Atomos, was fined $4,003
The company has distanced itself from the incident, claiming it's a personal matter.
'As a result the company has no further comment,' the Atomos statement read.
