MONOGRAPH 40 volume 1

43 Research monograph 40 2. Findings Figure 3: Distribution of penalty types for environmental planning and protection offences in the LEC — 2000 to 2015 (principal offence only) 337 Newcastle Port Corp v MS Magdalene Schiffahrtsgesellschaft MBH [2013] NSWLEC 210. The Marine Pollution Act 1987 was repealed on 1 September 2014. 338 [2003] NSWLEC 279. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Per cent 4.6 1.0 0.6 9.4 63.9 19.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.4 s 10 dismissal s 10 bond s 10A Add Order(s) only Fine Fine plus Add Order(s) s 9 bond s 9 with super s 8 CSO s 12 Susp sentence or s 7 ICO Prison 2.1.3.2 Overall level of fines imposed Table 1 provides an overview of the fines that were imposed for environmental offences in the study period. Overall, 417 offenders received a fine for their principal offence. The average fine was $38,099 and the median fine was $22,000. The most common fine amount was $20,000 (n=26). The next most common fine imposed by the LEC was $30,000 (n=25). The largest fine imposed was $1.2 million for the offence of “Discharge as owner oily mixture from ship into State waters” under s 8(1) of the repealed Marine Pollution Act 1987. 337 The smallest recorded fine amount was $10, which was imposed as part of a larger sentencing exercise in EPA v Aust Pacific Oil Co Pty Ltd. 338 In that case, two company directors were found liable under the “special executive liability” provisions of s 169 of the POEO Act and each received a fine of $20,000 for the offence under s 143(1)(b). The LEC imposed a nominal fine on the company for the same offence and, thus, the $10 nominal penalty may be viewed as a statistical outlier. The next smallest fine imposed by the LEC was $200. Table 1 also shows the fines imposed by the LEC on corporations and individuals for environmental planning and protection offences. The mean fine for corporations ($43,683) was almost 50% higher than the average fine for individual offenders ($29,823). The median fine for corporations ($25,000) was two-thirds higher than the median fine for individuals ($15,000).