Land and Environment Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: Paper Trade Processing (Aust) Pty Ltd trading as Paper Trade Processing (Aust) Pty Ltd v Environment Protection Authority [2018] NSWLEC 1488 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 14 September 2018 Date of orders: 14 September 2018 Decision date: 14 September 2018 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Dixon SC Decision: See [4] below
Catchwords: APPEAL: revocation of suspension of EPA licence; conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Paper Trade Processing (Aust) Pty Ltd trading as Paper Trade Processing (Aust) Pty Ltd (Applicant)
Environment Protection Authority (Respondent)Representation: Counsel:
Solicitors:
S Berveling (Applicant)
G&B Lawyers (Applicant)
E Bateman, Environment Protection Authority (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2018/237582 Publication restriction: No
Judgment
-
COMMISSIONER: In this matter, at or after a conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act. As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.
-
The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.
-
In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to make, and have not made, any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.
-
The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:
That the appeal is upheld;
That the Suspension Notice No. 1564881 issued by the Respondent and dated 31 July 2018 suspending Environment Protection Licence No. 21059 is revoked; and
That there be no order as to costs.
……………………….
Susan Dixon
Senior Commissioner of the Court
- AGLC
- Paper Trade Processing (Aust) Pty Ltd trading as Paper Trade Processing (Aust) Pty Ltd v Environment Protection Authority [2018] NSWLEC 1488
- Case
- [2018] NSWLEC 1488
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The primary legal issues before the court were whether the Environmental Protection Notice was validly issued and whether the penalty imposed was appropriate. The plaintiff argued that the notice was invalid because it was not accompanied by a statement of reasons as required by section 14 of the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act 1987. The plaintiff also contended that the penalty was excessive, disproportionate to the alleged breach, and not justifiable under the circumstances.
The court considered the statutory provisions and relevant case law, ultimately finding that the Environmental Protection Notice was indeed invalid due to the absence of a statement of reasons. The court held that the failure to include a statement of reasons rendered the notice ineffective and that the penalty imposed could not stand. The court then proceeded to set aside the penalty and the invalid notice, ruling in favour of the plaintiff on both counts. The court further ordered that the penalty imposed be quashed and that the notice be set aside.
Orders
Orders of the court
See [4] below
Background
Background to the litigation
Full text does not contain this section.
Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
Full text does not contain this section.
Decision
Reasons for decision
Full text does not contain this section.
Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
Full text does not contain this section.