Caltex faces $2m fine for petrol leak

October 16, 2014

Caltex Australia faces a fine of as much as $2 million for an uncontrolled discharge

of about 170,000 litres of petrol at its Banksmeadow Terminal at Port Botany in July
last year.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority has sought to pursue Caltex for a Tier 1
offence, which carries its highest penalties. The EPA has had six such prosecutions
over the past decade.
"Tier 1 offences under the Protection of Environment Operations Act 1997 are the
most serious offences under legislation administered by the EPA and it requires
approval from the EPA Board before commencement," EPA Chair and CEO Barry
Buffier said in a statement.
"The EPA Board believed this incident was significant enough to warrant prosecution
in order to seek the highest penalty possible for an environmental offence," a
spokeswoman for the agency said.
The EPA will allege that a break in a hose during a fuel transfer led to the creation of
a "pool of petrol".
"It is alleged that the discharge continued for around 80 minutes before a NSW Fire
and Rescue officer waded through a pool of petrol to turn off the valve," the EPA
said.
That officer, Ron Morasso, had to walk through knee-deep petrol to close a storage
valve. Mr Morasso, now retired, received the force's highest honour the
Conspicuous Medal for his bravery in May this year.
"There was a real possibility of an explosion if the leaking valve was not shut off,"
FRNSW Commissioner Greg Mullins said at the time of the award ceremony.
"The rate at which the fuel was escaping from the tank, about 2000 litres per minute,
meant there was only a small window of opportunity in which to act," he said. The
storage tank could hold 2 million litres of fuel.
Fire risk
The EPA will tell the court that the discharge "could have resulted in ignition of the
petrol vapour and a consequential major fire".
"We take safety very seriously," said Sam Collyer, a Caltex spokesman, adding the
company had cooperated fully with the EPA investigation.
It's understood that Caltex is surprised by the size of the potential fine, particularly as
the fuel was contained within storage bunds.
"Although there was no harm to the environment, Caltex is disappointed that the
incident occurred given our longstanding commitment to maintaining the highest
standards in environmental, personal and process safety," the company said in a
statement. "Caltex does not believe its systems and processes were inadequate."
Earlier this year, oily water from Caltex's nearby Kurnell Refinery overflowed into
Botany Bay, affecting the nearby national park and local fishing sites.
The pollution was triggered by a deluge that led to an overflow from containment
areas, prompting an EPA probe.

"The EPA has concluded its investigation and is currently determining the
appropriate regulatory response which will be made public in due course," the
spokeswoman said.
Reference: Hannam, P. (2014). Caltex faces $2m fine for petrol leak. [online] The
Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/caltexfaces-2m-fine-for-petrol-leak-20141016-116sdn.html [Accessed 16 Nov. 2014].

Former Speaker Peter Slipper sentenced to 300 hours of community service

September 24, 2014

THE ex-wife of former speaker Peter Slipper has stormed out of a Canberra courtroom,
declaring the case against her former husband a witch-hunt against the hardest working
person in the Parliament.
Fresh from being sentenced over misuse of taxpayer funded travel entitlements for trips to
wineries, Mr Slipper went straight across the road from the court to the Uni pub in Canberra.
He did not have a drink.
Mr Slipper, escaped jail time for misuse of his entitlements. Instead, ACT Chief Magistrate
Lorraine Walker sentenced the former Speaker to 300 hours of community service and placed
him on a good behaviour order for two years.
Mr Slipper was found guilty of misusing about $1000 worth of taxpayer funded Cabcharges
to visit Canberra wineries on three dates in 2010.
Chief Magistrate Walker today told the court his offences were towards the mid range, but
were abuses of the trust placed in him by the Australian people.
The defendant has displayed no remorse, she said, but admitted he has already suffered
public humiliation.
His decision to dishonestly fill out Cabcharge dockets and disguise his trips took planning
but no significant premeditation, the court was told.
Chief Magistrate Walker said the public was the victim of Mr Slippers frauds because at
the time he held one of the highest political positions in the country.
But she found prison ... is not warranted in this case.
Mr Slipper also has to repay the $954 dollars within 28 days and has his three convictions
recorded.

He was supported in court by his former wife Lyn, having been estranged from his current
wife Inge.
His ex-wife and mother of his children showed her disgust at the sentence, storming out of
the courtroom.
She told reporters he is an innocent man.
He did in his view, and mine, absolutely nothing wrong.
He suffers from Aspergers, the nurse said, and has already attempted suicide twice.
It was a witch-hunt, she said.
Mr Slipper was the hardest working person in the Parliament and has been persecuted
almost to the grave because he got in the way of Tony Abbotts lust for the lodge, she said.
VERDICT: Peter Slipper found guilty of dishonestly using taxpayer funds
His defence lawyer Kylie Weston-Scheuber on Monday told the court that jail time shouldnt
be ordered for Mr Slipper, who through his poor mental health has become a pathetic
character.
He currently helps out with the organisation Meals on Wheels and has his sights set on
returning to law through the Queensland Bar Association, she said.
References were tendered from federal MPs Joel Fitzgibbon and Michael Danby, as well as
former Governor General Peter Hollingworth, who all attested to the 64 year olds good
character.
But the prosecution argued the former Speaker should face imprisonment, given the offences
were carried out when he was in a position of power.
In July, Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker ruled Mr Slipper acted dishonestly and knowingly
caused a risk of a loss to the Commonwealth.
But his lawyers lodged an appeal in the wake of her decision.
They had tried repeated attempts to earlier have the case against the former Speaker struck
out, including on mental health grounds.
Late last year they sought a permanent stay in proceedings, eventually taking their claim to
the ACT Supreme Court.
But they lost both bids.
His legal team then made an application on mental health grounds, telling the court in June
that Mr Slipper was suffering a major depressive illness.
His psychiatrist Dr Chris Martin revealed the ex-MP had been hospitalised five times since
May 2013 and had twice attempted suicide.
He painted a picture of a man who feels like a worthless human being since his fall from
grace, estranged from his wife, turning to alcohol and brooding over his situation.

When that failed, and the matter proceeded to a week long hearing, his lawyers made a lastditch attempt to stop the case, arguing the Prosecution had presented Mr Slipper with no case
to answer.
However, that too, was unsuccessful.
PETER SLIPPER CABCHARGE CASE COURT TIMELINE:
February 15, 2013 Case appears in court, after Mr Slipper was summoned.
May 23, 2013 Mr Slipper is formally charged in court, pleads not guilty.
December 2013 His lawyers try and fail in an attempt to have a permanent stay in
proceedings, in ACT Magistrates Court. Announce theyll go to ACT Supreme Court.
February 19, 2014 ACT Supreme Court hearing on whether the case should be
permanently stayed.
March 14, 2014 Court told Peter Slipper has been in and out of mental health facility,
lawyers flag application to have case thrown out on those grounds.
May 9, 2014 ACT Supreme Court judge dismisses appeal to have the case permanently
stayed.
May 26, 2014 Lawyers say they want to have the case against Mr Slipper thrown out on
mental health grounds.
June 25, 2014 Loses bid to have case thrown out on mental health grounds.
July 21 July 24, 2014 Week long hearing.
July 28, 2014 Judgement day. Found guilty.
September 22, 2014 Sentencing submissions heard.
September 24, 2014 Sentence day.
Reference: NewsComAu, (2014). Former Speaker Peter Slipper sentenced to 300
hours of community service. [online] Available at:
http://www.news.com.au/national/former-speaker-peter-slipper-sentenced-to-300hours-of-community-service/story-fncynjr2-1227069102088 [Accessed 16 Nov.
2014].

Kieran Loveridge sentence for killing of

Thomas Kelly doubled on appeal
July 4, 2014
It was understandable that in the moments after the jail sentence given to Sydney
youth Kieran Loveridge was doubled, the family of his victim, Thomas Kelly, were
focused on their lost loved one rather than the broader significance of the decision.
As Stuart Kelly, 16, so eloquently put it: ''I no longer have a brother, instead I have a
hole in my life, and that's something I'm meant to accept.''
But perhaps as the Kelly family mark the second anniversary of the 18-year-old's
death over the next few days, they might quietly reflect on the latest twist in what has
been a very public case as well as a personal tragedy.
The original sentence of five years and two months given to Loveridge for the string
of attacks he conducted in Kings Cross two years ago including the savage blow
that killed Thomas set off a dramatic chain of events.
Within three months the then O'Farrell government bowed to public pressure and
implemented strict mandatory sentencing laws for violent offences fuelled by alcohol.
On Friday, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal resentenced Loveridge to a minimum
of 10 years, two months' jail for the night of violence. This included increasing the
minimum sentence for the manslaughter offence from four to seven years.

Would the mandatory sentencing laws have been imposed if Loveridge had been
sentenced to a decade in jail by Justice Stephen Campbell in the first place?
The Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney-General had originally sought a
guideline judgment rather than mandatory sentencing laws, and the latter was
understood to have opposed them strongly.
A guideline judgment would have offered courts across the state a clearer path when
sentencing offenders in ''one punch'' manslaughter cases and, if Friday's judgment is
anything to go by, it may well have indicated that tougher penalties were appropriate.
The three-judge appeal panel led by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst found that the
previous sentence had been "manifestly inadequate".
It upheld all seven of the appeal grounds put forward by the Crown, most crucially
that sentencing judge Stephen Campbell failed to properly consider the need for
general deterrence.
''The use of lethal force against a vulnerable, unsuspecting and innocent victim on a
public street in the course of alcohol-fuelled aggression called for express and
demonstrable application of the element of general deterrence as a powerful factor
on sentence in this case,'' their honours said in their reasons for judgment.
Some have read the judgment as an attempt by the court to send as clear a
message as possible about the issue of alcohol-fuelled violence within the confines
of the new laws.
Given the limitations of the new mandatory sentencing laws such as the need to
prove intoxication through a breath or urine test it may in fact have a greater
practical impact.
But such considerations were far from the Kellys' minds on Friday.
"I miss all the things that brothers do together throwing a ball, laughing, joking,
playing,'' Stuart Kelly said.
"I can tell you firsthand that to experience this kind of pain at such a young age is
just it's just too hard."
Reference: Bibby, P. (2014). Kieran Loveridge sentence for killing of Thomas Kelly
doubled on appeal. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/kieran-loveridge-sentence-for-killing-of-thomas-kellydoubled-on-appeal-20140704-zsvk2.html [Accessed 16 Nov. 2014].