McCracken used the money to illegally clear and develop land. What a merkin.
http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/Id/70297
Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability
The Honourable Kate Jones
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
McCRACKEN FINED $182,500 FOR CLEARING ON WHITSUNDAY COAST
Property developer Jarrod McCracken has been fined $182,500 in Proserpine Magistrates Court today over a number of charges including illegal tree clearing on a Whitsunday coastal property north of Airlie Beach.
Mr McCracken pleaded guilty on 10 May 2010 to a total of six charges brought against him by the Department of Environment and Resource Management and three charges by the Whitsunday Regional Council.
Magistrate Athol Kennedy ordered Mr McCracken to pay a fine of $140,000 plus a council penalty of $42,500 and costs of $33,000. Contractors Bastemeyer Group Pty Ltd, who carried out the works, were fined $10,000, with a council penalty of $30,000 and costs of $8,000.
Acting Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said they were serious offences.
“The environmental values of the Whitsunday region have been completely disrespected,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“Mr McCracken has ridden roughshod over environmental laws that protect both the survival of rare local plant species and the health of the Great Barrier Reef.”
In early 2007, Mr McCracken began directing contractors Bastemeyer Group Pty Ltd to carry out clearing and earthworks on a 387ha property at Clarke’s Cove, owned by his wife Michelle McCracken.
The works included clearing approximately 13ha of remnant native vegetation, including rare Whitsunday bottle trees, for the purpose of constructing a road, a house site and a horse paddock, from approximately April to August 2007.
The clearing occurred not only on the property, but also on the adjacent strip of State esplanade reserve. It even encroached into Dryander National Park, 265 square metres of which was cleared.
“The clearing on and around the property has caused sediment run-off directly into Clarke’s Cove and Emperor Bay, which form part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“DERM’s investigations found that, at a very conservative estimate, 8516 tonnes of soil eroded during the period May to December 2007.”
The works ceased after the Planning and Environment Court ordered Michelle McCracken, as the property owner, to stop carrying out the earthworks and tree clearing.
Ms Palaszczuk said despite being an experienced property developer, Mr McCracken had neglected to follow the rules.
“This is a case in which the basic ground rules for owning and developing property have been blatantly disregarded,” she said.
“Mr McCracken has chosen to ignore development assessment rules by clearing trees, carrying out earthworks and even desecrating the cultural heritage values of the site without any authority to do so.
“The construction of a rock retaining wall on the esplanade reserve has irreparably damaged an Aboriginal shell midden, while other works have irreparably damaged other physical cultural heritage items on the property, which included stone artefacts,” she said.
DERM charged Jarrod McCracken with:
o Taking of a protected plant (in relation to 14 rare Whitsunday bottle trees) - Section 89 Nature Conservation Act 1992.
o Interfering with a natural resource of a protected area (in relation to the ingress into the National Park); - Section 62 Nature Conservation Act 1992
o Wilfully causing environmental nuisance (in relation to the sediment run-off into the Marine Park) - Section 440 Environmental Protection Act 1994
o Doing a trespass related act (clearing, excavation and earthworks on the esplanade reserve land) - section 404(1) Land Act 1994
o Carrying out assessable development without a permit (clearing of native vegetation on freehold land) - section 4.3.1(1) Integrated Planning Act 1997
o Failing to discharge cultural heritage duty of care (failing to take reasonable measures to ensure works did not harm Aboriginal cultural heritage) - section 23 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003.
Rehabilitation and revegetation of the site and other affected areas is occurring and relevant authorities will continue to monitor this.
“This case demonstrates that DERM will take action against anyone who fails to undertake the appropriate enquiries and permits before clearing land,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
MEDIA CONTACT: 3239 0824 
