Rogue contractor Adam Ibrihim destroys Truganina native grasslands with asbestos, Sunshine Court hears

A contractor has offered up a strange excuse in court after he destroyed 19ha of native grasslands in Truganina by dumping asbestos contaminated fill.

Soil covers land previously home to native grasslands at a conservation site in Truganina. Picture: Adrian Marshall

A contractor has destroyed 19ha of native grasslands in Truganina after he scraped and levelled land with asbestos contaminated soil, despite the land owner never asking him to perform the works.

Adam Ibrihim, 43, pleaded guilty to several environmental damage charges in the Sunshine Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

In December 2021, property owner and developer Peter Wu asked Ibrihim to work on clearing a path for vehicles on his Mt Atkinson Rd property.

Ibrihim, who owned a demolition and excavation business before it went into liquidation in April 2023, began the work to clear the path.

He then took it upon himself to level a 19ha area of the property by scraping and filling the area with soil.

The native grasslands on the property have been completely destroyed by the asbestos contaminated fill. Picture: Adrian Marshall

The court heard no permits were obtained for this work and Mr Wu never asked for it to be completed.

On March 1, 2022 a member of the public reported the work to the Melton City Council.

The council ordered for works to stop immediately on the grasslands in April, which are environmentally protected by both the state and the Commonwealth.

Instead, works continued until June.

Melton City Council told the court the 19ha of the “pristine” native kangaroo grass had been completely destroyed by the fill and soil dumping due to the fill being contaminated with asbestos from building rubble.

Seeds and weeds in the fill had also taken hold in the grassland, which further destroyed any chance the grassland could be recovered.

Ibrihim told the court he was not paid for the works and was not asked to complete them by Mr Wu.

Seeds and weeds from the fill have rooted in the native grasslands. Picture: Adrian Marshall

Rather he did the works out of his own volition to help out his long-time client.

The court was told due to the complete destruction of the grasslands, developers would likely be able to obtain a planning permit for the property.

“The council would be unlikely to knock back any planning permit because the conservation value of the land has already been irreversibly destroyed,” said the Melton City Council prosecutor.

Magistrate Gregory Robinson said the area was “ripe for development” and the soil dumping was “wild west cowboy type behaviour”.

“It is difficult to accept that you did this of your own volition,” he said.

“It is also difficult to accept as a contractor you would be so blind to the requirements of your industry to obtain permits for dumping contaminated soil.”

However, Mr Robinson also said there was no proof before the court the dumping was done intentionally, in order for the land to be developed.

Mr Robinson fined Ibrihim $150,000 and ordered him to pay $60,000 in costs for the land destruction.

“You destroyed irreplaceable land,” he said to Ibrahim.

“You should be ashamed of that.”

Mr Wu is also facing charges related to the asbestos fill and is set to appear before the courts in 2025.