A person cannot be found to 'appear to have abandoned' industrial waste under s 62A(1)(c) of the Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic) if the evidence establishes that person never knew of the presence of the waste buried within land it occupied. While actual intention to abandon need not be proved, it must at least appear that the person at some point knowingly possessed the waste. The liability under s 62A(2) arises at the time of compliance with a clean-up notice, not at the time pollution was caused, and therefore the provision does not operate retrospectively. The word 'liabilities' in an Order in Council transferring liabilities to a successor council extends to contingent and inchoate liabilities.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 9 later cases that cite this judgment.