Director-General, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water v Venn [2011] NSWLEC 118

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Director-General, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water v Venn [2011] NSWLEC 118 Hearing dates: 7 March 2011, 13 May 2011, 23-27 May 2011, 1 June 2011, 17 June 2011 (supplementary written submissions) Decision date: 08 July 2011 Jurisdiction: Class 4 Before: Preston CJ Decision: Declaration and injunctions as set out at [348] Catchwords: Civil enforcement - proceedings for orders to remedy and restrain breach of statute - picking of plants of endangered ecological communities - owner of private land directed clearing and filling of adjoining land - whether clearing and filling constituted picking of plants - whether plants picked were part of endangered ecological communities - past breach established - threatened or apprehended breach - appropriate orders to remedy and restrain breach - declaration of past breach - orders restraining future breach - orders remedying past breach.

Civil enforcement - proceedings for orders to remedy and restrain breach of statute - damaging and removing vegetation and soil from land reserved or acquired under National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 ("Parks Act") - owner of private land directed conduct of clearing and filling of adjoining land - conduct damaged and removed vegetation and soil - whether adjoining land had been acquired under Parks Act at time of conduct - transfer of land not registered until after conduct - whether land acquired before registration of transfer - whether adjoining land reserved under Parks Act as nature reserve at time of conduct - land eligible to be reserved includes land acquired under the Parks Act and lands of the Crown - whether adjoining land was land acquired under the Parks Act at time of reservation - whether adjoining land was lands of the Crown at time of reservation - whether adjoining land was vested in Minister administering Parks Act - alternatively whether adjoining land was lands vested in a public authority - whether Delta Electricity is a public authority - whether public authority granted concurrence to reservation of adjoining land as nature reserve - past breach not established - threatened or apprehended breach - adjoining land since been acquired under Parks Act - appropriate orders to restrain future breach.