Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment v Namoi Valley Farms Pty Ltd (No 5) [2022] NSWLEC 59

Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment v Namoi Valley Farms Pty Ltd (No 5) [2022] NSWLEC 59

Given the limited scope of the present application, and as some records may be relevant to the Defendant's case regarding the timing of commencement of prosecution, the orders for production are to be made for specific categories of documents for a defined period, not generally as previously sought.

Parties
Prosecutor: Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment; Defendant: Namoi Valley Farms Pty Ltd
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
11 May 2022
Procedural Posture
Criminal Procedure—production of Documents / Interlocutory Application During Trial
Outcome
Orders for limited production of documents made
Legal Topics
Production of Documents, Preliminary Disclosure, Time Limitation for Prosecution
Criminal Law Environmental Law Procedure Production of Documents Preliminary Disclosure Time Limitation for Prosecution

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Parties

Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment

Prosecutor

Namoi Valley Farms Pty Ltd

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Procedure—production of Documents / Interlocutory Application During Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Defendant is entitled to production of certain compliance records from the Prosecutor during trial under preliminary disclosure provisions of Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW)
  2. 2 Whether the documents sought are relevant to the issue of whether the prosecution was commenced out of time

Ratio Decidendi

Given the limited scope of the present application, and as some records may be relevant to the Defendant's case regarding the timing of commencement of prosecution, the orders for production are to be made for specific categories of documents for a defined period, not generally as previously sought.

Court Disposition

Orders for limited production of documents made

Orders

  • The Prosecutor is to produce all records of meetings held between 1 March and 15 March 2017 of the Compliance Team located at the Dubbo Office of OEH to the Defendant.
  • The Prosecutor is to produce all records showing or recording the times and dates on which any person obtained computer access to the N Drive on the investigation underpinning this prosecution from 1 March 2017 to 15 March 2017 and the identity of those persons.