Couple lose appeal against convictions
A Ka¯piti couple have lost an appeal against their convictions for damaging wetland areas on a property in Paraparaumu.
Julie Maree Crosbie bought the 11-hectare property in the Nikau Valley, Paraparaumu, in May 2019, intending to turn it into a beef farming unit.
Her partner, Adrian Neil Page, was accused of doing extensive work on the property north of Wellington, including to areas of natural wetlands, with her permission between May 2019 to March 2021.
He received a rare prison sentence – three months’ jail – for environmental offences. They both appealed against their convictions but neither he nor Crosbie, who was fined $118,750, challenged their sentences on appeal to the High Court in Wellington.
Their appeal was dismissed. The couple represented themselves, but the judge noted Page was relatively experienced, with several appearances in the District Court, Environment Court, High Court, and the Court of Appeal.
Page disputed wetlands on the property were ‘‘natural’’. He accepted he was responsible for most of the work undertaken.
Justice David Gendall said Page, who did most of the talking at the appeal, was wrong to focus on whether the wetlands were artificial creations or ‘‘natural’’.
‘‘His focus missed the point of how wetlands are delineated and defined. They do occur by human-made efforts and these are not excluded from the definition,’’ the judge said.
The Greater Wellington Regional Council had told them to stop the work on wetland areas and issued abatement notices, then the Environment Court made interim orders for them to cease work.
Finally, charges were laid and the couple pleaded not guilty, the judge said.
The charges included allowing cattle to access wetlands, disturbing wetlands, breaching abatement notices, and breaching the Environment Court interim order by failing to exclude livestock from parts of the property.
The council said Crosbie’s property had six wetlands and was subject to a next-door subdivision being able to discharge treated human effluent and other wastewater over parts of the property. Livestock was not able to graze on those parts.
A natural gas pipeline also crossed the property.
Page disputed he was properly served with a copy of the Environment Court’s interim enforcement order but the judge said it was enough that it was left for him at his usual address.