Environment Protection Authority v Taylor [No. 2] - [2001] NSWLEC 114

Land and Environment Court

of New South Wales

CITATION: Environment Protection Authority v Taylor [No. 2] [2001] NSWLEC 114

PARTIES:
PROSECUTOR:
Environment Protection Authority
DEFENDANT:
Rodney Scott Taylor

FILE NUMBER(S): 50093 of 1998; 50094 of 1998 and 50095 of 1998

CORAM: Lloyd J

KEY ISSUES:
Environmental Offences :- carelessly disregard instructions on pesticide container - an objective test
Evidence: -relevance - defendant's mental capacity irrelevant

LEGISLATION CITED: Evidence Act 1995 s 56(2)
Interpretation Act 1987 s 30(1)
Pesticides Act 1978 s 33

CASES CITED: Blair v Miller [1988] WAR 19;
Crack v Post, Ex parte Crack [1984] 2 Qd R 311;
Hall v Narrabri Shire Council, NSWLEC, Bignold J, 10 January 1992, unreported;
He Kaw Teh v The Queen (1951) 157 CLR 523;
Lim Chin Aik v The Queen [1963] AC 160;
McCrone v Riding [1938] 1 All ER 157;
R v Gosset (1993) 105 DLR 681;
R v Preston Jj, Ex p Lyons [1982] RTR 173;
R v Wampfler (1987) 11 NSWLR 541;
Simpson v Peat (1952) 2 QB 24

DATES OF HEARING: 01/05/2001

EX TEMPORE
JUDGMENT DATE :
05/01/2001

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:

PROSECUTOR:
Mr D A Buchanan SC
SOLICITORS:
Stephen Garrett
DEFENDANT:
Ms V M Heath (Barrister)
SOLICITORS:
Sheridan & Stubbs

JUDGMENT:

IN THE LAND AND Matter Nos.: 50093/50094/50095 of 1998
ENVIRONMENT COURT Coram: Lloyd J
OF NEW SOUTH WALES Decision date: 1 May 2001

Environment Protection Authority

Prosecutor

Rodney Scott Taylor

Defendant

JUDGMENT [No. 2]

HIS HONOUR:

1. The defendant seeks to tender a report by a medical practitioner, Dr A M Fielding and a report by another medical practitioner, Dr L A Guile. The tender of the two reports is opposed by the prosecutor.

2. The reports describe a severe brain injury suffered by the defendant as the consequence of an accident when his horse rolled on him some years ago, rendering him unconscious and in a coma for several days. According to the above-mentioned reports the defendant has as a consequence a poor memory function and very poor ability to remember or comprehend the content of written instructions. The prosecutor opposes the tender of the reports on the ground that they are not relevant evidence and are thus not admissible (s 56(2) of the Evidence Act 1995).

3. It is submitted by the prosecutor that the offence with which the defendant is charged is a strict liability offence which does not involve any mental element.

4. The offence with which the defendant is charged is an offence against s 33 of the Pesticides Act 1978. That Act was repealed and replaced by a new Act in 1999, the Pesticides Act 1999. The repeal of the 1978 Act does not, however, affect anything done or any liability acquired or penalty incurred under that Act and any legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced as if that Act had not been repealed (see s 30(1) of the Interpretation Act 1987).

5. At the time of the alleged offence, namely 4…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2001] NSWLEC 114
Decision Date: 05/01/2001

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales was tasked with determining whether the defendant, Rodney Scott Taylor, had contravened the Pesticides Act 1978 by carelessly disregarding instructions on a pesticide container. The Environment Protection Authority prosecuted Taylor for this alleged offence of strict liability, which required no proof of mens rea. The crux of the case revolved around whether Taylor's medical condition, which impaired his ability to remember and comprehend written instructions, was relevant to the determination of his guilt.

The primary legal issue was whether the offence under section 33 of the Pesticides Act 1978 required proof of mens rea or if it constituted a strict liability offence. If it were a strict liability offence, Taylor's mental capacity would be irrelevant to the determination of guilt. The court needed to ascertain the nature of the offence and the appropriate standard for determining whether Taylor had "carelessly disregarded" the instructions on the pesticide container.

The court concluded that the offence under section 33 of the Pesticides Act 1978 was indeed one of strict liability. It held that the terms "carelessly" and "disregard" should be interpreted objectively, aligning with the approach in cases involving motor vehicle offences where an objective standard is applied. The court emphasized that the purpose of the statute was to prevent harm to health and property, reinforcing that the offence was of a regulatory nature typically associated with strict liability. Consequently, the court rejected the tender of medical reports concerning Taylor's cognitive impairments, ruling them irrelevant to the determination of his guilt under the strict liability framework.

The court's decision underscored that the strict liability nature of the offence meant that Taylor's mental condition did not mitigate his liability. The medical reports were deemed inadmissible as they did not pertain to the objective standard required to determine his culpability. The court's ruling thus upheld the strict liability principle and the objective interpretation of the statutory language, rejecting any subjective consideration of Taylor's mental capacity.

Orders