Claravale Farm is about 270 kilometres south of Darwin. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
In short:
The owners of Claravale Farm have reached a settlement with the Northern Territory government in a legal action over the unpermitted clearing of 286 hectares of land.
The Environment Centre NT says the decision to drop the prosecution is disappointing and "sends the wrong message" about environmental protections in the territory.
What's next?
The agreement will require current and future owners to revegetate and protect 80 hectares of land, which the NT environment minister says will better protect the Daly River.
The Northern Territory government has reached a settlement with the owners of a farm who cleared almost 300 hectares of land without a permit, ending a prosecution believed to be the first of its kind in the territory.
In November 2023 the government launched legal action against the owners of Claravale Farm, alleging 286 hectares of the property had been cleared without a land-clearing permit in contravention of the NT Planning Act.
It is believed to be the first time a government has taken such legal action in the NT's history, and came after an ABC investigation uncovered alleged land clearing without a permit at three properties.
NT government launches legal action against Claravale Station
Photo shows A man in a navy blue suit with an australian flag in the background
On Monday, the NT government announced it had reached a settlement with the owners of Claravale Farm, which will require them to revegetate and protect an 80 hectare area of land — separate from the land where the unpermitted clearing took place.
"This area will no longer be able to be cleared or disturbed of native vegetation, no agricultural or business endeavours are to be undertaken, and the area must be kept free of weeds and fires," said NT Environment Minister Joshua Burgoyne in a statement.
The government said: "The defendants have acknowledged that vegetation was cleared by them on a section of Claravale Farm without a land clearing permit."
It also said the farm owners would pay the costs of the protected area, and the agreement would apply to both current and future owners.
Mr Burgoyne told NT Country Hour the new protected area secured a "buffer zone" between the farm's operations and the Daly River, addressing a key concern raised by community members.
Joshua Burgoyne says the settlement is a win for the environment. (ABC News: Hamish Harty )
"The land along the Daly River was allowed to be cleared, and within those close proximities … the actual legal action was on another parcel of land, further away from the river," he said.
"What we've been able to secure here, in this agreement, is essentially a 250 metre corridor … along a 1.5 kilometre stretch of the Daly River, that will now be protected from now and into the future, irrespective of who owns this land."
Mr Burgoyne said the settlement was a better outcome than continuing to pursue the matter through court.
"[It spent] two years in litigation. They're now going to lose 80 hectares of land along a river, and they're going to have to wear the cost of revegetating that area," he told NT Country Hour.
"This is not some easy way of getting out of what's happened.
"This has been a long process … if we'd allowed this to go on, it probably would have gone on for another two years."
Images suggest land being cleared for cotton farming before permits granted
Photo shows Cleared land with two lone trees in the middle.
In a statement, the Environment Centre NT said it was disappointed the prosecution had been dropped "despite an apparent admission of guilt by the defendant".
"Breaking the law is breaking the law. There's no incentive to do the right thing when there are minimal repercussions for illegal conduct," executive director Kirsty Howey said.
"Settling these proceedings sends the wrong message and completely fails Territorians and the rivers we love.
"The suggestion that a covenant over a small parcel of land represents a good environmental outcome is laughable and falls far short of the kind of reform needed to protect the territory's iconic nature."
Kirsty Howey says the decision to settle the matter "sends the wrong message". (ABC News: Che Chorley)
Ms Howey said it was now "incumbent" on the NT government to reject a new application from Claravale Farm's owners to clear close to 6,000 hectares of land at that property and the adjacent Claravale Station.
NT Farmers chief executive Greg Troughton described the settlement as "sensible".
"Clearing must be done in the legal way. When it's allegedly not done in such a way, there are and should be consequences," he said.
"It's not very often you see a negotiated settlement whereby the environment wins with the establishment of a covenant to ensure land adjacent to the Daly River is forever protected for generations."
Mr Burgoyne said under the previous prosecution, the maximum penalty for an individual was a $78,000 fine, and for a corporation an almost $400,000 fine.
He said the agreed facts of the matter would be made public.