Company fined for illegal logging near Cooktown

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A Townsville logging company has been fined $10,000 for unlawfully cutting down trees in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area near Cooktown.

The company entered the plea in the Cairns Magistrates Court and was ordered to pay $2,000 in legal costs. No conviction was recorded.

The company was responsible for felling 28 trees in the World Heritage Area at Shiptons Flat, Rossville, over two weeks in late October 2020.

The species consisted of red tulip oak, black bean, red mahogany, and cadagi.

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The court heard the company knew a range of approvals to log trees was required, including from the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation and the Authority.

The company conducted the logging despite the absence of any approvals, which led to environmental damage.

Logs from the felled trees were transported to a holding yard in Townsville, where they were seized by DES investigators.

Investigators also executed a search warrant at Shiptons Flat and catalogued tree stumps, felled trees left there, and vegetation damage as a result of access tracks at the site.

The court was told the company did not make any money from the logs but had hoped it would lead to paid business in the future.

The Executive Director of the Wet Tropics Management Authority, Scott Buchanan, said the result sends a strong message.

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“The sentence handed down by the Magistrate demonstrated a strong willingness to deter others from these kinds of illegal activities.

“The Wet Tropics World Heritage Area is protected for its outstanding universal value to the World and is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.”