Australia, Sept. 9 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on Aug. 8:

1. In 2015, in the context of the International Plant Protection Convention, the Queensland Court of Appeal said:

"The Commonwealth legislative regime as to export inspection and certification was aimed at maintaining Australia's highly favourable plant health status and wide access to overseas markets. Australia was a signatory to the IPPC [International Plant Protection Convention] with the purpose of protecting plants internationally by preventing the introduction and spread of pests. [...] The applicant's actions risked compromising the integrity of Australia's export inspection and certification system and exposed Australia to criticism for noncompliance with the IPPC. It could result in importing countries closing market access to not only the applicant's company but to all Australian exporters and in the imposition of tougher requirements on all Australian exporters with higher costs and fewer competitors in the international market. The applicant's offending undermined Australia's international standing and the role it played in assisting other nations to comply with the IPPC. It exposed Australia to criticism from foreign competitors. It put at risk Australia's $2 billion annual timber export industry. It had the potential to damage Australia's reputation and to cause economic harm to the timber industry including to the competitors of the applicant's company and to all those employed in the Australian timber industry." - R v Moxon [2015] QCA 65 ("Moxon") per McMurdo P, with whom Philippides JA agreed, at [29].

2. Moxon was concerned with Timber exports from Australia. This case concerns table grapes under a different international arrangement. Nonetheless, McMurdo P's observations resonate.

Introduction

3. Unlike Australia, there are no fruit flies in New Zealand. For obvious reasons, New Zealand wishes that to continue. In Australia, for the purpose of the Australian-New Zealand Bilateral Quarantine Arrangement, table grapes are designated as either being grown in "fruit fly pest-free-areas" or "non-fruit fly pest-free-areas". If grapes come from anywhere other than a designated fruit fly pest-free-area, they must be disclosed as such and subjected to 16 days' cold storage to kill any fruit flies, thus protecting New Zealand from Australian fruit flies.

4. Since 1989, The Grape House Pty Ltd ("TGH") has operated a packhouse and treatment facility for table grapes and citrus from 15 Kilpatrick Road Euston, New South Wales. TGH was granted registered establishment number 5149, which enabled it, at that facility, to fumigate and cold store grapes for export to New Zealand. During the 2017 and 2018 grape seasons, TGH purchased table grapes from Australian growers for export by air and sea to customers in New Zealand.

5. At all times during the offending period, Carmelo (aka Charlie) Costa ("Mr Costa") was the sole director of TGH and Mr Colin Egan ("Mr Egan") was the Warehouse and Logistics Manager. In that role, Mr Egan was in charge of preparing documents to be submitted to the then named Department of Agriculture and Water ("the Department") and carrying out the mandatory treatment of grapes prior to export.

6. The relevant conduct is attributed to TGH through Mr Egan who, as its Warehouse and Logistics Manager, was a "high managerial agent" of TGH. He caused representations to be made to the Department by signing Transfer Certificates, which were deliberately false, as to where the grapes had been grown.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/19886f6990cc8419dd409c1d)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.