Wheat king cops record fine for illegal land clearing on NSW farm

A renowned NSW wheat farmer has been slapped with a record fine following illegal land clearing on his landmark 12,590ha cropping farm.

Harvest at Boolcarrol and Milton Downs properties near Moree, in northern NSW. Picture: File

A record fine has been handed down to a renowned NSW wheat farmer following illegal land clearing on his landmark cropping farm.

On Friday, former Graincorp chairman Ron Greentree and his company Auen Grain Pty Ltd were fined $2.088 million in total, plus $278,000 in costs as Justice John Robson handed down his sentence in the Land and Environment Court of NSW.

Mr Greentree was fined $1,015,200 while Auen Grain Pty Ltd was also fined $1,072,800 following a 2022 court verdict which found Greentree and Auen Grain guilty of eight separate landclearing events at a northwest NSW property between December 2016 and January 2019.

The convictions relate to the removal of 1262 hectares of native vegetation on the 12,590-hectare property known as Boolcarrol, northwest of Narrabri, NSW.

Six of the clearing events were contrary to Section 12 of the Native Vegetation Act 2003, while the other two were contrary to Section 60N of the Local Land Services Act 2013.

The cleared hectares at Boolcarrol included habitat for 30 threatened species, such as the Glossy Black Cockatoo, Pale-headed Snake, Spotted Harrier, and Yellow-bellied Sheathtail Bat.

“Apart from being unimpressed with Mr Greentree’s varied explanations (and in some cases, denials), there was simply no acceptable explanation for the nature and extent of the clearing undertaken in relation to each of the offences and the overall and consistent clearing undertaken over the period of the offences occurring from late 2016 through to early 2019,” Justice Robson said in his findings.

Farmer Ron Greentree on his farm at Rowena near Moree, NSW, in 2002. Picture: File (Chris Pavlich)

“The prosecutor submits that the clearing on Boolcarrol was undertaken in furtherance of the commercial farming enterprise which Mr Greentree and Auen Grain were engaged in at the time.

“The prosecutor submits that there is clear evidence of an intention by the defendants to undertake ‘broadacre’ clearing when Boolcarrol was purchased and that the clearing of 1262ha across the property was self-evidently done for the purpose of making more land available for cultivation.”

In 2008 Mr Greentree and his former business partner, Ken Harris purchased Boolcarrol, running the property in tandem with the adjoining 21,463-hectare Milton Downs.

NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment began proceedings into the land clearing in August 2019, against Auen Grain, Mr Greentree, Merrywinebone Pty Ltd and Ken Harris.

Justice Robson found Mr Greentree and Auen guilty on all counts in December 2022, while dismissing the charges against Mr Harris and Merrywinebone.

He found that Mr Harris did not cause the landclearing to occur, nor did he have knowledge of it.

Earlier this year Mr Greentree sold the 12,500-hectare Muttama Station, located 30km west of Coonamble at Quambone Road, for $42.38 million to a private Coonamble district farming

family.