Director-General Department of Environment and Climate Change v Wilton [2008] NSWLEC 297

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Director-General Department of Environment and Climate Change v Wilton [2008] NSWLEC 297 This decision has been amended. Please see the end of the judgment for a list of the amendments.

PROSECUTOR: Director-General, Department of Environment and Climate Change PARTIES : DEFENDANT: Donald Norman Wilton

FILE NUMBER(S) : 50010; 50011 of 2008

CORAM: Biscoe J

KEY ISSUES: Prosecution :- appropriate penalty - offender pleaded guilty to offences of clearing native vegetation with a bulldozer on his rural land, not in accordance with development consent or a native vegetation code of practice - objective and subjective sentencing considerations - offender obtained financial advantage from planting a plantation of trees on cleared land - offender mistakenly believed there was an exemption for removal of mature vegetation less than 15 years of age and carelessly formed the belief that cleared vegetation (other than large trees) was less than 15 years of age.

LEGISLATION CITED: Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997 (NSW), ss 17, 21(2)

Bentley v BGP Properties Pty Ltd (2006) 145 LGERA 234 Blue Mountains City Council v Carlon [2008] NSWLEC 296 Director General of the Department of Climate Change v Taylor [2007] NSWLEC 530 Environment Protection Authority v Snowy Hydro Ltd [2008] NSWLEC 264 Markarian v The Queen (2005) 228 CLR 357 CASES CITED: Mosman Municipal Council v Menai Excavations Pty Ltd (2002) 122 LGERA 89 R v Carroll [2008] NSWCCA 218 R v McNaughton (2006) 66 NSWLR 566 R v Mungomery (2004) 151 A Crim R 376 R v Thomson; R v Houlton (2000) 49 NSWLR 383 R v Whyte (2002) 55 NSWLR 252 Veen v The Queen (1978) 143 CLR 458