Auckland Regional Council officials and politicians have fired a broadside at judges over the level of fines being imposed for pollution offending.
Staff reported yesterday that the average fine for pollution convictions since 1996 was $4000 or only 2 per cent of the maximum penalty.
Just a fortnight ago, LadyPatricia Thorp, who chairs the regional council's environmental management committee, expressed disappointment at the fines imposed on a company for polluting a stream flowing into the Manukau Harbour.
The ARC receives about 1000 pollution complaints and prosecutes between 10 and 20 cases a year.
The list of all 30 successful pollution prosecutions since 1996 presented to the committee contained the names of some of New Zealand's best-known companies.
Fines ranged from $12,000 to nothing.
Members of the environmental management committee were told that in many cases the level of fine was inconsistent with the environmental impact of the pollution caused or the degree of negligence that caused the pollution.
"It is felt that many of the fines are at a level that provides neither a deterrent to reoffenders nor an encouragement to others to better manage their activities to minimise the risk to the environment," said Ian Mayhew, an ARC land and water quality manager.
Under the Resource Management Act those convicted of causing pollution are liable for a term of imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to $200,000.
Mr Mayhew said recent fines had not exceeded 10 per cent of the maximum, in spite of some of the pollution cases leading to significant environmental problems.
He said that although the council was successful in recovering enforcement costs from polluters, not the ratepayers, it had not been so successful in seeking penalties equal to the offending.
Costs awarded to the ARC according to the list ranged from $17,500 to $400.
Lady Thorp said the courts appeared to lump the fines and costs together in total rather than consider them separately.
