Outrage over a "paltry" fine given to Wagga Solar Farm has led to calls for a stricter crackdown on developers who violate their permit conditions.
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The developer was fined $1500 for destroying Aboriginal artefacts, including stone tools and axes that date back thousands of years.
Archeologist Sven Ouzman said the laws were vague and "poorly enforced" by the government regulator, particularly when it came to Aboriginal heritage.
"The appetite to enforce these laws is not there, there's not a lot of case law to go on, and there's not a regular habit of bringing people to task for heritage infringements," Dr Ouzman said.
"The fines themselves can be, for some companies, not that large. They're probably a fraction of a day's operation, so they might take a strategic decision to pay the fine."
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He said the public outcry was usually a bigger deterrent for companies than the actual fines, saying that investors were abandoning companies like Rio Tinto because of their heritage infringements.
Member for Wagga Joe McGirr said the fines were "not good enough", saying that the government needed to be tougher on developers who break the rules.
"It's just not good enough for companies to be required to meet certain obligations, not meet them, and then get a small fine," Dr McGirr said.
"It sends a message that if you're big enough and got enough money, then you can ignore your obligations."
Dr McGirr said it was not the first time the solar farm had let down residents, saying that nearby farmers were complaining about sun glare, loss of agricultural land, and water run-off.
The solar farm borders the property of Eunony Valley farmer John Gray, who said farmers and Aboriginals alike had been "ignored" by the government.
"If we are serious about Aboriginal artefacts, then to fine a company of that size $1500 for completely disobeying and disregarding their instructions - to my mind it's absolutely ludicrous," Mr Gray said.
"It's a blight on the agricultural land around us. Most people would be horrified about what's happened out here."
A Department of Planning, Industry, and Environment spokesman said they had investigated the developer Metka EGN before making their decision.
"After an investigation, the maximum $1500 fine was issued to Metka for breach of one of its Aboriginal heritage impact permit (AHIP) conditions, being failure to notify. AHIPs are issued by Heritage NSW under s.90 of the National Parks and Wildlife 1974 Act," he said.
"The Department found there was insufficient evidence for a successful prosecution of Metka-EGN for harm to Aboriginal objects, and the company was issued with a Warning letter."