Arabic version: تغريم مزارع 60 ألف دولار بسبب إزالة غطاء نباتي في بورت ويكفيلد
According to ABC News, a 73-year-old South Australian farmer has been fined $60,000 after unlawfully clearing 277 hectares of native vegetation at a Port Wakefield property about 70 kilometres north of Adelaide.
The farmer pleaded guilty in the Environment, Resources and Development Court of South Australia to clearing native vegetation contrary to the Native Vegetation Act 1991. Senior Judge Michael Durrant handed down his judgment on September 23, after the fine was imposed last month.
The man was leasing the land for agricultural purposes including grazing and cropping. The clearing took place progressively between November 2023 and March 2024 and affected mature vegetation that had existed on the property for many years, including native chenopod shrubland communities with saltbush and samphire associations.
Senior Judge Durrant found the clearing was not authorised because consent had not been obtained from the Native Vegetation Council. He said the defendant was familiar with the approval process, knew the proposed clearance required consideration and had previously been involved in a council approval process affecting nearby land.
Prosecutors submitted the offending had a commercial dimension, while the defence said the purpose was environmental improvement. The judge said neither description entirely captured the circumstances and was not satisfied the clearing was motivated solely by commercial advantage. He accepted that significant regeneration had occurred and that the farmer had participated in recovery efforts, but said the deliberate, unapproved clearing was serious. A conviction was recorded alongside the $60,000 fine.
