A JUDGE has reserved his decision in the case of a Croppa Creek farmer – the son of an alleged murderer – accused of unlawful clearing.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Grant Wesley Turnbull appeared in the Land and Environment Court in Sydney this week over alleged breaches of the Native Vegetation Act, after several investigations by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH).
The hearing resumed this week after adjourning in March, following a court challenge by the OEH, instigated in September 2014, to halt immediate works on certain areas of Colorado, his family farm north of Moree.
Last September, Justice Rachel Pepper granted a temporary interlocutory order, sought by the OEH, restraining Mr Turnbull from clearing, or causing or permitting the clearing of, native vegetation on the land.
A further allegation centres on an area totalling 286 hectares, which is alleged to have been cleared between May and August last year.
Turnbull’s family is at the centre of land-clearing disputes with the OEH after his father, Ian Robert Turnbull, allegedly gunned down and murdered an environmental compliance officer near the Croppa Creek village last July.
Justice Malcolm Craig has reserved his decision in the case to a later date.
