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Bush Pressure - Complexity of land use and regulations |
Rural industries are regularly the subject of prosecutions for environmental offences and not many realise how severe the penalties can be. |
Regulation of virtually every aspect of agricultural use means that the average primary producer has to consider a myriad of rules and statutory obligations. |
The movement of tree changers with no interest in agricultural pursuits or traditional rural activities has developed a real potential for confrontation with primary producers, irrespective of the intensity of the latter's operations. |
However, the intensification of many operations, such as feed lots and the demands placed on modern growers to meet increasing quality standards, have created a potential for adverse environmental impacts about which even other conventional land users, let alone the regulators, complain. |
In a recent case, a feed-lot owner was charged with maintaining over an extended period of time some 2,000 head of cattle more than permitted under the pollution control licence for the property. |
In the case of a corporation, the penalty for contravention of a condition of a licence is $1 million, with a further penalty of $120,000 for each day the offence continues. |
However, after taking into consideration such factors as an early guilty plea, cooperation with the authorities and the sincere expression of contrition, the penalty was assessed at $80,000 plus costs of $14,000. |
