Statement from the Minister for Environment

The Palaszczuk Government welcomes the $4.5 million in fines and convictions recorded against Linc Energy Limited, which is the highest penalty ever imposed under Queensland law for environmental offending.

Today’s sentence sends a strong message that the Government and environmental regulator is committed to thoroughly investigating and prosecuting allegations of serious harm.

This was the biggest pollution event in Queensland’s history and I congratulate the Department of Environment and Science on the excellent work it has done in coordinating and managing what was the state’s largest environmental investigation.

We have some of the highest environmental standards in the world and Queensland has a strong record when it comes to environmental compliance.

Linc Energy Limited was found guilty by a jury of all five counts of wilfully and unlawfully causing serious environmental harm following a ten week trial earlier this year.

Today, the Brisbane District Court sentenced Linc Energy Limited to a total fine of $4.5 million for five offences of wilfully and unlawfully causing serious environmental harm, over a period of seven years, in contravention of the Environmental Protection Act 1994. Convictions were also recorded against the company.

Given that the company’s liquidators chose not to defend the proceedings, the prosecution case was required to be ‘strictly proved’ meaning that a significant volume of documentary evidence needed to be tendered, and approximately 80 witnesses needed to be called.

A number of former Linc executives are also facing charges and this legal action is still currently before the court, and as such, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

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