Farmer fined $60k for clearing native vegetation north of Adelaide

A 73-year-old farmer from Port Wakefield, South Australia, has been fined $60,000 for unlawfully clearing 277 hectares of native vegetation on his leased property. The man pleaded guilty to removing saltbush and samphire, claiming it was for environmental purposes. However, Senior Judge Michael Durrant held that the clearing was not authorized as the farmer had not obtained consent from the Native Vegetation Council.

The judge noted that the defendant had a lifetime involvement in pastoral and agricultural enterprises and had previously engaged with the Native Vegetation Council approval process for nearby land. Despite accepting that the removal of the vegetation had been motivated by environmental improvement, Judge Durrant emphasized the seriousness of the offense due to the deliberate clearing of a substantial amount of mature native vegetation without proper approval, highlighting the importance of the approval system set up by the Parliament.