NSW court rejects Walker Corp's land clearing defence
No role for councils in mandating building sustainability: Victorian inquiry
Meatworks and winemakers big winners in climate grants round
NSW court rejects Walker Corp's land clearing defence
The NSW Land and Environment Court has rejected a claim by developer Walker Corporation that it was not guilty of clearing about 23 hectares of land near Wilton, in NSW.
The clearing took the form of mulching trees, shrubs and groundcover on the property, which was subject to a noxious weeds order.
The court also heard evidence that the site had some years ago been subjected to discharges of saline water from a BHP mine.
Walker Corp, represented by John Ireland QC, argued that the cleared vegetation was only regrowth. But Justice Rachel Pepper concluded this was not the case. She also rejected arguments that the clearing was only for routine agricultural management.
The company also argued it was not liable because it relied on the specialist land clearing skills of an independent contractor.
Justice Pepper held that the evidence did not demonstrate the company exercised "detailed control over the manner of the work", but it was nevertheless vicariously liable for the clearing.
No role for councils in mandating building sustainability: Victorian inquiry
The Victorian Government should clarify that building regulations, not local government land planning regulations, are the right mechanism to ensure new buildings are good environmental performers, says a draft report by the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission.
While it is appropriate for councils to provide information on the environmental performance of buildings, submissions suggest "some councils are going beyond this information-provision role to require that new buildings incorporate features to improve their environmental performance", says VCEC's draft report on streamlining local government regulation.
"The concern is that such requirements go beyond those laid out in national building standards, and that councils are using the wrong instrument, namely land-use planning regulation, to take on this role."
"There is an existing apparatus for developing standards for the environmental performance of buildings, through the Building Codes Board, which councils and the State Government can seek to influence," the report says.
"Allowing councils to introduce their own building standards through the land-use planning system is likely to undermine what is a more transparent and robust national building standards framework."
Public comment closes on June 22.
Meatworks and winemakers big winners in climate grants round
The meat processing sector is one of the major beneficiaries of the latest round of grants under the Federal Re-tooling for Climate Change scheme.
Three meatworks, AJ Bush & Sons in NSW, Tabro Meat in Victoria and the Master Butchers Co-operative in South Australia, will each receive grants of $550,000.
The four winemaking grant winners include Taylors Wines in South Australia, which has been awarded $550,000 to help convert its refrigeration system to an ammonia-based system.
A total of 22 companies will share $5.5 million in the latest funding round of the scheme, which offers dollar-for-dollar grants to small and medium manufacturers to improve energy and water efficiency.
