The Court sentenced two individual landholders for five charges each of unlawful clearing of native vegetation under s 60N(1) of the Local Land Services Act 2013, imposing total fines of $315,000 (Mr Vassallo) and $116,250 (Mrs Vassallo) after a 25% early guilty plea discount and a further 50% totality reduction. The Court rejected the Prosecutor's contention that either defendant acted recklessly, finding instead that both were negligent — critically, Mr Vassallo's illiteracy was accepted as precluding a finding beyond reasonable doubt that he had read or understood the LMC, though a reasonable person in his position would have taken steps to ascertain its terms. The Court also declined to find the offending constituted 'planned or organised criminal activity' under s 21A(2)(n) of the CSP Act, holding that the indicia relied upon (engaging contractors, using machinery, scale of clearing) were inherent characteristics of the offence rather than evidence of aggravated planning, and that to count them again would constitute impermissible double-counting.
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