Dirty dairying fine won’t be paid, companies broke
It was one of the worst cases of dirty dairying in recent times, but the companies can’t pay the $225,000 fine, and the owners have avoided charges. Two farms that belonged to Far North farmers David and Frances Webster were responsible for allowing dairy effluent to flow into waterways in what an Environment Court judge Craig Thompson called the worst case of ‘‘prolonged noncompliance’’ he had ever seen.
The offending, which saw a huge amount of untreated dairy effluent put into the Manganui River, which feeds into the Wairoa River and the Kaipara Harbour was described as ‘‘blatant, ongoing and serious’’, with one of the farms being ‘‘awash with dairy effluent’’, resulting in ‘‘gross contamination’’.
Both the farms, located east of Dargavillle, had a long history of fines and enforcement action. David Webster and the companies Clear Ridge Station Ltd and Beejay Stud Ltd were charged by Northland Regional Council in early 2016.
In October 2016, the charges against Webster were withdrawn after the companies entered guilty pleas.
The companies were convicted and fined a total of $225,000. There was no application made at the sentencing hearing for discount on the grounds of poor financial position. The council, which spent more than $50,000 on the prosecution, was entitled to 90 per cent of the fine. But the companies never paid. After a year of no progress the council asked the court to make directions for both companies to provide financial information to a forensic accountant, who would then assess and report to the Court.
The companies agreed to provide all the requested information but only provided some. What it did provide revealed that the companies had no remaining assets.
The accountant said if there were any funds they were likely to be in other companies or trusts related to the Websters, and access to these funds would be ‘‘very unlikely’’.
Property records show that the Clear Ridge farm sold for $4.56 million in January, 2016, but there is no record of when the farm owned by Beejay Stud property was sold, or the sale price.
Judge Greg Davis reviewed progress on the matter in Whangarei District Court on Tuesday and adjourned the matter until later this month in order to obtain further information. The Websters have been excused from the next appearance.
Outside the court the council’s farm monitoring manager Dennis Wright said the companies ‘‘grossly polluted waterways for at least eight years and the environment wore the cost’’.