Auckland men admit breaching Covid borders to go skiing

The three escaped Auckland lockdown and went skiing on Ruapehu. Photo / NZME

Three men who breached last year's Covid lockdown so they could head off for a ski trip have pleaded guilty - but want a discharge without conviction.

Joshua Schluter, Amos Lochhead, and Israel Lochhead used genuine essential worker passes to leave Auckland and travel to a Mount Ruapehu ski field in September 2021.

The three, aged between 18 and 23, stood in the dock at the Auckland District Court today dressed in suit jackets and white shirts. They entered their pleas through lawyer Bree Munro.

Munro, who was acting for Ron Mansfield QC, asked Judge Anna Skellern to withhold the young men's convictions today so they could apply for a discharge without conviction.

Each faced one charge of failing to comply with a Covid-19 order, with Israel Lochhead facing a second charge for causing loss by deception (under $500).

They were arrested last September in the small ski town of Ōhakune, after ski field staff raised suspicions about the paperwork they used to get a ski pass.

Auckland was at alert level 4 lockdown at the time while the rest of the country had dropped to level 2, and movement across the Auckland border was restricted.

Police condemned the incident at the time, saying it was "unacceptable" for the iwi and community.

The men had tested negative for Covid-19 and public health officials said the risk was low, but the incident remained the "talk of the town" for Ōhakune locals and business owners.

"I think people are angry – we don't have any Covid so there's this sense of, 'keep it up there, we don't want it'," local cafe owner Isobel May told the Herald at the time.

Kevin Deadman, owner of Ruapehu Mountain Motel and Lodge, said, "They have mucked it up for everyone – if there are locations of interest, then we have cases here and we could all be locked down past Christmas."

The incident took place in the same month an Auckland couple were caught using essential worker exemptions to leave the city for a Wanaka getaway, rousing public anger at a time when New Zealanders were called to do the right thing and follow lockdown rules.