The Australian Securities & Investment Commission has launched its first court action for greenwashing, with proceedings in the Federal Court commencing against Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited for allegedly misleading consumers about the sustainable nature of its investment options.
Water pollution fines levied on a large Sydney developer have been halved after an appeal court found the company’s failure to properly implement soil erosion and sediment controls at a construction site was not motivated by money.
Sydney Water has been fined $200,000 in a sentencing hearing after being found guilty of a serious pollution incident in 2019 when its actions caused untreated sewage to overflow into a nearby creek.
In an important case considering the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s powers to issue stay orders under the state’s revised Environment Protection Act, big global meat products company Van Hessen has been denied a stay of a prohibition notice that will potentially cost it up to $200,000 per week and result in the loss of 30 full time jobs.
A service station operator has been fined a total of $320,000 for its wilful and ongoing failure to comply with an EPA notice, with a large part of the fine comprising nearly a year of daily penalties for each day of non-compliance.
The Federal Court of Australia has fined four Perth-based bathroom and kitchen supply companies and their sole director a total of $2.195 million in the first civil penalty case under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005.
The NSW Land and Environment Court has dismissed an appeal by the former director of a liquidated waste oil company who claimed charges filed against him by the NSW EPA for failing to comply with clean-up notices were duplicitous.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has supported a regional council’s decision to block a development application due to the future risk of gas migration from a nearby landfill.
A Federal Court full bench has today dismissed an appeal by Santos against an earlier ruling that invalidated its approvals to develop its Barossa gas field north of the Tiwi islands.