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A Sydney man has been threatened with jail after failing to clean up an illegal waste dump on his property.
Saviour Camilleri has been pursued by Fairfield City Council since 2006 for hoarding at two properties in Horsley Park, about 39km from CBD.
He was given ‘one final chance’ on on Thursday to clear the waste or face a $45,000 fine for being in contempt of court.
Mr Camilleri was found to have hoarded numerous items including building materials, trucks, scrap metal, shopping trolleys, baths and sinks.
He was ordered to remove the items by Justice John Robson in the NSW Land and Environment Court, but was told he can keep one working tractor.
Fairfield City Council began investigating Mr Camilleri after neighbours began noticing the pile up of rubbish in 2004.
The council first took him to court in 2016 over ‘unlawful storage of waste’ and breaching planning laws.
He faced subsequent court appearances after ignoring court orders to clean up the waste.
Saviour Camilleri has been pursued by Fairfield City Council over an illegal waste dump and on Thursday was ordered to remove several items
Justice John Robson in the NSW Land and Environment Court told Mr Camilleri he can keep one working tractor on this property
On Thursday, the court found him guilty of contempt for ‘disobeying or otherwise failing to comply’ with court orders from November 2022 relating to his Burley Road property, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
He was handed a $45,000 fine, but told the payment would be suspended if he safely removed several waste materials, disposing of them at the correct facility and sharing the receipts with the council.
Fairfield City Council had been looking for a suspended prison sentence following Mr Camilleri’s previous guilty pleas over his other land.
The council argued Mr Camilleri ‘taken no steps towards complying with the court orders’ and ‘it was likely’ he would reoffend.
It was also argued a jail sentence could be suspended in order to provide Mr Camilleri with ‘one final chance’ to clean up the Horsley Park property.
At the latest hearing, on April 4, Mr Camilleri represented himself with help from his partner Diane Borg.
Mr Camilleri told the court he wanted to ‘carry on’ with his life, had lost work and ‘was kind of broke’.
Neighbours complained to the council when Mr Camilleri’s waste became visible from outside the property
However, he also accepted he had ‘disobeyed’ earlier court orders.
Mr Camilleri disagreed with the council over the waste material on his land, arguing he needed ‘gates and fencing stuff’ for animals on his land.
The judge said Mr Camilleri’s breach of court orders involved ‘deliberate defiance’, but stated a prison sentence was a ‘last resort’.
Mr Camilleri was ordered to remove the ‘waste materials’ by August 14.
If he fails to do so, the council will have the authority to enter the property from the following day to begin the clean-up operation within three months.
Fairfield City Council would then send Mr Camilleri the bill.
