A fine representing 4% of the maximum penalty for a corporate environmental offence under s 120 of the POEO Act is not necessarily inadequate, particularly where the maximum must be set high to cover the full range of offenders from individuals to large corporations. The percentage-of-maximum scale articulated in EPA v Orange City Council is not prescriptive. Holding a licence to discharge non-polluting water does not impose a higher standard of care relevant to sentencing for a pollution offence.
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