Szulc v Chief Executive Officer, Department of Environment and Conservation [No 4]

The appellant was convicted of two counts of contempt of court and appealed the decision. The appeal was dismissed as the notice of appeal was out of time, however, an extension of time to appeal was granted on 3 July 2012. The appeal was dismissed due to the appellant’s failure to comply with an injunction preventing the clearing of native vegetation. The Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) and the Soil and Land Conservation Act 1945 (WA) regulate the clearing of native vegetation and the appellant was issued a vegetation conservation notice and a soil conservation notice which he failed to comply with. The appellant argued that he should have been granted an adjournment to obtain legal representation but this argument was rejected as the appellant failed to establish indigence and did not provide evidence of reasonable steps taken to obtain legal representation.
The court held that the appellant's failure to comply with the injunction was a contempt of court and the appeal was properly dismissed. The court found that the appellant had not established indigence and had not taken reasonable steps to obtain legal representation. The court also held that there was no miscarriage of justice as the appellant had been given ample opportunity to obtain legal representation and had failed to do so. The appeal was dismissed and the convictions and sentences imposed by the primary judge were upheld. The court found that the appellant had failed to establish any error of law or miscarriage of justice and that the appeal should be dismissed.