Hefty penalty for tree fern theft

By Ed Merrison
A NARRE Warren South man has received a suspended jail term and been stripped of $25,000 profits derived from trading in illegally harvested tree ferns.
Adam Hendrikus Post, 37, was convicted on 16 charges including handling stolen goods and obtaining property by deception at a County Court hearing in Sale on Thursday, 17 August.
Post pleaded guilty to all 16 charges relating to the sale of tree ferns illegally harvested from Gippsland to unsuspecting nursery operators and retailers who later sold the plants on to the public.
The charges included one count of handling stolen goods, 14 counts of obtaining property by deception and one count of making a false document relating to illegal tagging of the tree ferns.
Judge Jane Campton imposed a pecuniary penalty order of $24,600 plus $200 costs, as well as a sentence of two and a half years’ jail, suspended for two and a half years.
Crown prosecutor Kieran Gilligan, acting for the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), told the court Post had committed the offences from November 2002 to May 2003 while operating his Berwick wholesale nursery Tree Fern Products.
Mr Gilligan said soft tree ferns, or Dicksonia Antarctica, were protected flora under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
In Victoria the ferns are harvested and traded under strict conditions with individual plants tagged under DSE approval.
The court heard Post had purchased ferns illegally harvested from Crown Land forests and private land in Gippsland, including the Strzelecki Ranges and Franklin River area.
Judge Campton was told an estimated 9946 feet of soft tree fern – 2500 plants at an average of four foot high – were bought and sold by Post over a 14-month period.
Mr Gilligan told the court Mr Post supplied the ferns as two- to three-foot high plants to 13 nurseries and retailers, claiming they had been legally sourced from Tasmania.
“The tree fern tag system was introduced to stop the illegal harvesting and trade of Australian native flora, and to protect and maintain biodiversity values,” Mr Gilligan said.
In sentencing, Judge Campton said she took into account the plea by defence barrister Tim Burke that any jail term be suspended based on the fact Post had no prior convictions and was otherwise of good character.
The judge said Post’s plea of guilty was a mitigating factor.
She acknowledged the depression he was suffering at the time, his marriage breakdown, financial stresses and the fact that he lost his business as a result of the investigation.
“However, the nature of your offences was serious,” Judge Campton said.
“In a world where the desire for profit has a drastic impact on our flora and environment, your actions deserve strong condemnation.”
Outside the court, DSE prosecutor Gavan Knight welcomed Post’s conviction and the penalties awarded by the County Court.
“The penalty duly reflects the serious nature of these offences,” he said.
“This is a warning to anyone attempting to profit from the plundering of our forests and illegal destruction of habitat.”