Order in the court

Court reporter Jessica Howard takes a look at the cases that captured our attention during 2017

Supreme Court

KLAUS DIETER NEUBERT Wife killer convicted for peak-hour bloodshed IT brought a peak-hour intersection to a standstill and sent shockwaves across Hobart.

Risdon Rd in New Town erupted into suburban bloodshed on May 14, 2015, when Lymington man Klaus Dieter Neubert, 75, tracked down his estranged wife Olga, who he had been hunting for months.

Neubert cut his wife’s car off at a set of traffic lights, took a cut-down rifle stashed in his four-wheel drive and approached his wife’s vehicle.

He fired a volley of highpowered shots directly at Ms Neubert — the fatal bullet coming after the gun’s muzzle was pressed against her head.

Ms Neubert’s friend and front-seat passenger, Josephine Cooper, suffered significant psychological and physical injuries in the crossfire, including the loss of two fingers on her right hand.

Neubert was arrested at the scene, interviewed at Hobart police station and charged with murder and causing grievous bodily harm.

After being found guilty by a jury on both counts, Supreme Court Justice Michael Brett ordered Neubert to serve at least 16½ years in Risdon Prison.

Later that week Neubert returned to the civil court to hear Justice Stephen Estcourt award Mrs Cooper $2.31 million in aggravated damages and lost future earnings.

WILLIAM HENRY RICHARDSON Shoreline axe attacker IN March last year, former stockbroker William Henry Richardson walked into the Shoreline Shopping Centre in Howrah and, after seeing his estranged wife, bought an axe and struck her head and body five times in the middle of a supermarket aisle.

This year, a Supreme Court jury found him not guilty of attempted murder, but guilty of the lesser charge of causing grievous bodily harm.

Justice Stephen Estcourt sentenced Richardson to seven years’ jail with a nonparole period of 4½ years.

In September, Richardson appealed his sentence on the basis it was “manifestly excessive”.

The self-represented inmate argued the judge had not taken into account his previous good conduct and character, and the observations and opinions of others. Acting Justice Pierre Slicer dismissed the appeal.

LEE-ANNE MARIE LEVETT Computer-hacking travel agent IT was a marathon effort of more than 45 listings in the Supreme Court, but the case of the computer-hacking travel agent finally wrapped up in November.

Travel Studio boss Lee-Anne Marie Levett, who pleaded guilty to 48 counts of unauthorised access of a computer, was handed a suspended sentence and community service by Acting Justice David Porter.

Levett, 52, of Howden, and her husband were joint owners of The Travel Studio in Salamanca Square. Mr Levett is not accused of any wrongdoing.

In July 2011, the University of Tasmania started a tender process for its staff travel. The Travel Studio signed up to the tender process, as did rival agency Andrew Jones Travel. Both agencies used the same software system.

The Crown alleged Levett used the logon and password of a former Travel Studio employee — who had moved to Andrew Jones Travel — to access her rival’s business records. The court heard after the agencies were declared joint winners of the account,

Levett continued to access her rival’s system.

She was able to access not only confidential financial information about Andrew Jones Travel, but also personal details of their customers. She saved confidential reports to her hard drive, the court heard.

She was sentenced to nine months in prison, wholly suspended on the condition she committed no further crimes for two years and completed 140 hours of community service.

MARK WILLIAM EATHER Five-year fish saga HIGH-PROFILE fisherman Eather was fined more than $177,000 and is not be able to hold a fishing licence in Tasmania after being sentenced for trafficking rock lobster in July.

Eather, 58, originally pleaded not guilty to trafficking in 605kg of untagged rock lobster between January 2011 and October 2011 at Boomer Bay.

The fisherman of more than 30 years, who was wellknown in the industry as a champion of ethical and sustainable fishing, had been fighting the case through Tasmanian courts for more than five years.

Top chefs including Neil Perry, Kylie Kwong and Chris Bonello were among Eather’s customers. He also sold rock lobster to Mona’s Source restaurant and the Agrarian Kitchen cooking school.

The Crown argued Eather engaged in trafficking because he did not hold an appropriate fishing licence at the time and the fish were not tagged.

The charges against him were thrown out by Justice Shan Tennent in June 2015, with a ruling that no jury could have found him guilty.

But an appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions was successful in overturning that decision and a retrial was ordered.

Eather changed his plea to guilty, he said, “purely to cease this ludicrous case”.

Chief Justice Alan Blow fined Eather $7500 and applied a special penalty amounting to a further $169,666. Eather will not be able to hold a fishing licence in Tasmania.

Magistrates Court

ASTRO LABE Accused Abbott headbutter THIS 38-year-old Hobart DJ, who shares his name with an Antarctic icebreaking research vessel, soon found that name in headlines across the country after he was charged with headbutting former prime minister Tony Abbott.

What started out as a runof-the-mill assault charge was soon upgraded to “causing harm to a Commonwealth public official” and if found guilty, Mr Labe could receive up to two years’ imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.

Mr Abbott was allegedly assaulted as he walked along Morrison St, after a meeting at the Mercury offices, to his hotel in Hunter St.

Mr Abbott alleged Mr Labe, who was wearing a pro-marriage equality sticker, was motivated by the divisive issue.

But Mr Labe told media it was a coincidence he was wearing the sticker. He is yet to enter a plea and will be back in court on January 18.

E KALIS PROPERTIES Hobart rivulet collapse THE city woke to find sections of the Hobart Rivulet wall had fallen in a pre-dawn collapse into the Kalis-owned Icon Complex construction site on Liverpool St on July 27 last year. The collapse brought down walls and floors in shops in the Cat and Fiddle Arcade and sent millions of litres of water from the rivulet into the construction site, flooding large excavators and dozers.

E Kalis Properties was charged with one count of failure to notify adjoining owners of proposed building work and protection work, and one count of carrying out building work without protection work as agreed or determined.

The developers pleaded not guilty to charges and the matter will go to a hearing around February.

DARKO KRAJINOVIC “Cowboy” developer ON an otherwise quiet Sunday, neighbours raised alarm bells with council and police as Krajinovic and three others set about cutting down two heritage trees and demolishing much of his heritage-listed Mt Stuart house and outbuildings with an excavator, with live power lines exposed and asbestos disturbed.

Amendments to the Land Use and Planning Approvals Act meant the Hobart City Council was not able to apply for an order banning Krajinovic developing the property and court action was the only way forward.

In early December, Krajinovic, 32, of West Moonah, copped a fine of $225,000 in the Magistrates Court for the illegal demolition and OHS breaches.

Described as a “cowboy” developer by Lord Mayor Sue Hickey, Krajinovic was also ordered to pay the council’s costs, which were expected to be about $40,000.

As a result of this case, the council will also pursue the State Government to impose tougher penalties on developers who deliberately break planning laws.

Krajinovic intended to build four townhouses on the site. A valuer’s report found the indicative market value of the property — which was bought for $445,000 — if it was subdivided and four units built on it would be about $700,000.

There is a live demolition application for the remains of the house.

Federal Court

Jacqui Lambie v the Messengers A TERROR threat, sexual innuendo and stressed staff — it was the bitter office split that put a former Tassie senator in hot seat.

The increasingly bitter dispute between former senator Jacqui Lambie and her ex-chief of staff Rob Messenger and his wife and former office manager Fern Messenger erupted in late August. The couple lodged action in the Federal Court, alleging breaches of the workplace award and breach of contract. An early statement of claim alleged the Messengers were dismissed for “serious misconduct” after contacting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about Senator Lambie’s alleged inappropriate workplace behaviour.

Some of that alleged behaviour included being aggressive and grumpy at work, regularly announcing to staff words to the effect “I haven’t got laid in a long time” and “I desperately need a root” and requiring untrained staff to take calls about suicide and graphic sexual assault from war veterans.

The statement of claim also said complaints were made by Mr Messenger about what he considered to be a “lack of appropriate security response” by the Commonwealth Government’s security agencies to a terror threat purporting to be from an Islamic State representative in 2015.

The case is due to be listed for mediation before a registrar in Melbourne early in the new year and if mediation fails, the matter will go to a hearing.

Salmon wars WHO would have thought the humble a fish would spark so much court action?

The ever-growing Tasmanian salmon industry as sparked tensions on two fronts, both of which will come to a head in the New Year.

A hearing date for the dispute over the approval of Tassal’s new East Coast fish farm has been earmarked for February, but may be pushed back to March.

Triabunna Investments and Spring Bay Mill have allied with the Bob Brown Foundation to pursue court action against Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg over his approval of the Okehampton Bay fish farm

The tourism companies, owned by Wotif.com founder Graeme Wood, are developing the former Triabunna woodchip mill site next to Tassal’s proposed shore base.

The applicants argue the decision to approve the salmon farm involved an error of law.

The state’s other salmon giant, Huon Aquaculture, will also return to court in March for its case against government regulators.

Executive director Frances Bender had said the court action was a “last resort” to prevent more environmental damage to Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast.

She accused the State Government of discriminatory decision-making benefiting a commercial competitor.