Former Environment Minister Tony Burke has been accused in court of contravening the act for which he was responsible for when he approved a 2012 plan to expand salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour.
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The first day of a full week of hearings centred on Mr Burke’s deferral of responsibility over the environmental impacts of the expansions, as argued by Huon Aquaculture’s legal team.
In 2012, the state government announced a plan to facilitate the expansion of salmon farming zones in the harbour, under the state's Marine Farm Planning Act and the Living Marine Resources Act.
The three companies which operated in the harbour – Huon Aquaculture, Tassal and Petuna – each submitted proposals which would expand the collective farming site from 5.5 square kilometres to more than nine square kilometres.
However, given one-third of the harbour falls within the boundary of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, farming practices needed to comply with the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act, overseen by the federal Environment Minister.
Huon Aquaculture last year launched legal action against the state and federal governments, arguing that both the approvals process and the biomass cap in the harbour had led to environmental damage in the World Heritage Area.
The Environmental Protection Authority reacted by reducing the biomass limit from 14,000 tonnes to 12,000, despite Huon’s argument the limit should be lowered to 10,000 tonnes.
Competitors Tassal and Petuna joined in the action on the opposing side.
Recently, the state government withdrew from the case.
Huon’s legal team argued on Monday there was a failure by the Environment Minister at the time in their decision-making over the expansion plans and conducted their role in a manner that was not consistent with the act.
Queens Counsel Adrian Galasso said the conditions attached to approvals for the expansions as “hopelessly meaningless”.
The Commonwealth will argue that the decision, once made, is deferred to someone else in a regulatory role, like the state’s Environmental Protection Authority.
But Mr Galasso described that deferral, and another onto the the companies themselves to self-manage any environmental impacts, as “ridiculous”.
He said by doing so, the minister was seeking “absolution” from the laws for which he was responsible of overseeing.
It is expected that outspoken Huon Aquaculture executive director Frances Bender will take the stand to give evidence on Tuesday.