ALMOST three years to the day since Merriwa shire's instigation of legal proceedings against a Cassilis property owner for failing to control the noxious weed St John's Wort, the matter has ended with a Court of Criminal Appeal costs order against the owner.
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Proceedings began on April 17, 2002, with a summons against Castlebar Holdings Pty Ltd by the then Merriwa Shire Council weeds officer Geoffrey Riley.
Mr Riley said the council had agreed to prosecute Castlebar Holdings after repeated requests that the owner carry out control measures against St John's Wort on the Cassilis property had met with no response. The case was heard initially in Tamworth Local Court.
The magistrate convicted Castlebar Holdings under the Noxious Weeds Act, for failing to control St John's Wort and awarded costs to Merriwa Shire Council.
Castlebar Holdings then appealed to the District Court and on August 25, 2004, in the District Court, Judge Berman reversed one of the magistrate's decisions, quashing the conviction and sentence. On the matter of costs, the judge adjourned the case to September 3, 2004. He then determined there were no grounds for a costs award, saying, "the investigation [by Mr Riley] was both reasonable and proper."
Following this, Castlebar Holdings appealed to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal against the costs decision.
On April 6 in the Court of Criminal Appeal, Sydney, Judges Spigelman, Grove and Bell dismissed the appeal and ordered Castlebar Holdings to pay Merriwa Shire Council's costs.
