Rummery v Chief Executive Office of Environment and Heritage

[2014] NSWCCA 106

NSW Court of Criminal Appeal

View on CaseLaw

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal and new trial
3. › Appeal against conviction
4. › Guilty plea
5. › Whether miscarriage of justice
6. › Whether appellant understood nature of charge
7. › Whether on admitted facts appellant could not in law have been convicted
8. › Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW), s 5AB
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal and new trial
3. › Admission of new evidence
4. › Whether evidence 'fresh'
5. › Whether denial of procedural fairness arising from manner of response to notices for production
1. Criminal Law
2. › Offences
3. › Environmental offences
4. › Clearing native vegetation
5. › Whether prosecution required to prove cleared vegetation was not 'regrowth'
6. › Onus of proof of statutory defence
7. › Native Vegetation Act 2003 (NSW), ss 9, 12, 19
1. Criminal Law
2. › Offences
3. › Environmental offences
4. › Clearing native vegetation
5. › Routine agricultural management activities
6. › Whether clearing permitted under 'imminent risk' exemption
7. › Meaning of 'imminent risk of serious personal injury'
8. › Native Vegetation Act 2003 (NSW), s 11(1)(i)

Quick Take

The 'imminent risk' exemption in s 11(1)(i) of the Native Vegetation Act 2003 (NSW) requires a temporal nexus — the risk must be of serious personal injury occurring relatively soon, not a latent or potential risk. Competing obligations under workplace safety legislation do not bring clearing within this exemption. The prosecution is not required to negative 'regrowth' under s 9; the onus of establishing the regrowth defence under s 19 rests on the defendant. For sentencing, the age of cleared trees must be supported by the evidence, and an erroneous finding as to tree age that inflates the assessment of environmental harm constitutes sentencing error.