Two men have been hit with hefty fines after posting videos of themselves online illegally driving through protected areas on the Gold Coast.
The men filmed themselves driving in a green four-wheel drive and a dune buggy, ploughing through Plunkett Conservation Park and Wickham Timber Reserve back on 27 November 2021.
A month later, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service was notified of the almost hour-long online video aptly titled ‘4X4 session goes bad’.
The pair crushed small trees during their antics, as well as drove up rock formations and disturbed the culturally significant ground.
The men had passed multiple signs advising that vehicles were prohibited from entering the area.
Part of the video showed one of the 4×4’s side mirrors breaking off from the car, which was later found by rangers along with damaged trees and tyre marks left on rock formations.
Following a lengthy investigation by the Department of Environment and Science both men were charged in September 2022 with two counts of interfering with a natural or cultural resource of a protected area without authority and one count of interfering with forest products on a timber reserve without authority.
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Both men faced Beenleigh Magistrates Court yesterday, where they pleaded guilty to all three charges and were each fined $7,000 and ordered to pay $750 in costs.
“This outcome serves as an important reminder to always obey signage and road rules when entering national parks, conservation parks, State forests and timber reserves,” A Department of Environment and Science statement reads.
“Motor vehicles are not permitted to be driven off-road in such areas, and where vehicle entry is allowed all motor vehicles must be registered for use on a public road and drivers must hold a valid driver’s licence,
“Rangers monitor social media for illegal activity in protected areas and will take strong action against those who disobey the rules or damage our protected areas and forests.”
The video notched up over 6,600 views before it was removed.
