Mark McGowan brutally roasts Barnaby Joyce over his fine for not wearing a mask at a petrol station as he defends footy players caught up in face covering furore
- Mark McGowan takes shot at Barnaby Joyce in defending AFL stars sharing plane
- WA Premier said players made a mistake but didn't 'do a Barnaby Joyce'
- Nationals leader was fined $200 for attending a petrol station without a mask
- West Coast and Fremantle players criticised for not wearing masks correctly
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has burned Barnaby Joyce for his coronavirus breach as he defended AFL players' inept mask wearing.
West Coast and Fremantle stars shared a plane from Perth to Melbourne on Tuesday, with several players slammed for not correctly wearing their masks.
In his coronavirus press conference on Wednesday, McGowan dismissed the criticism of the Eagles and Dockers teams, saying they didn't 'do a Barnaby Joyce'.
'I don't think what they have done is any great offence,' he told reporters. 'I understand that people make mistakes and I just urge them to wear the mask properly.
'It is not like they have done a Barnaby Joyce. I think they have made a mistake and they should just wear it properly in the future.'
Rival AFL players from Fremantle Dockers (left) and West Coast Eagles (right) were on the same chartered flight to Victoria on Tuesday
In his coronavirus press conference on Wednesday, McGowan dismissed the criticism of the Eagles and Dockers teams, saying they didn't 'do a Barnaby Joyce'
Mr McGowan was referring to the deputy prime minister copping a fine for failing to wear a mask at a petrol station earlier this week.
Mr Joyce was fined $200 after a fellow motorist spotting him walking inside to pay for his fuel bare-faced, which police confirmed from CCTV.
The WA premier didn't stop there, repeatedly referring to 'doing a Barnaby Joyce' and hinting at a number of other past indiscretions for the Nationals leader.
'I don't think they have done a Barnaby Joyce in many ways,' he said. 'Saying someone's done a Barnaby Joyce could mean many things.'
It's the second time this week Mr McGowan has publicly slammed Mr Joyce after his fellow Labor minister Jackie Jarvis called him an 'embarrassment to Australia' in WA Parliament.
The Deputy Prime Minister was reported to police by a member of the public while filling up at a petrol station in Armidale, in northern NSW
'Barnaby Joyce is an embarrassment to Australia,' McGowan said. 'He should not even be in Federal Parliament, let alone the Deputy Prime Minister of this country'
'Went in, 30 seconds later... two hundred bucks it cost me because I didn't wear one of these. That's life,' Joyce told Alan Jones
Mr Joyce was reported to police by a member of the public while filling up at a petrol station in Armidale, in northern NSW.
The local resident called Crime Stoppers to report 54-year-old after he was inside the store for less than a minute.
Officers checked the petrol station's CCTV after being called to the site, before they confirmed he was not wearing protective gear and issued the penalty.
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Joyce was fined $200 for failing to wear a mask while indoors, as is mandatory across the state.
Mr Joyce called his brief Covid breach a 'funny story' when he relayed it to Alan Jones on Sky News.
'You'll like this story. I went into the Caltex service station. I was going to the airport. I forgot to get fuel for Biggie, fill the car up with fuel,' he said.
'Went in, 30 seconds later... two hundred bucks it cost me because I didn't wear one of these. That's life.'
West Coast Eagles players (pictured) chatted amongst themselves on one side of the plane compared to the minimal interaction between Fremantle players on the other
West Coast end Fremantle players spent several hours waiting on the tarmac before boarding
West Coast and crosstown rivals Fremantle fled on Tuesday after Perth and the surrounding Peel area was plunged into a four day lockdown late Monday night due to new community coronavirus cases.
All but two of the 18 AFL teams are now based in Victoria as large swathes of the nation battle to control fresh virus outbreaks.
Western Australian based players were given little notice to pack and farewell loved ones before heading the airport, where they spent several hours waiting on buses on the tarmac before boarding a chartered Virgin flight.
