Page 6 - Climate Control News Dec-Jan 21

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Victorian company hit with record fine
LEFT: The company has been ordered to pay a civil penalty of $500,000.
Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said the Department’s prosecution against the company commenced in July 2019 after an investigation into the importing of bulk HFC without a controlled substances licence.
“During our investigation, department offic- ers seized several one-tonne capacity cylinders containing HFC-227ea, a widely used extinguishing agent, from the company’s prem- ises in Melbourne and Perth,” Ley said.
“This amount of HFC had the potential to create emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of 6600 cars or 2300 households.
“The company was aware of their obligations and import licensing requirements but pro- ceeded to import a significant quantity of HFC-227ea anyway.
“The work of the Department in pursuing this issue and the Federal Court ruling demon- strate that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated and the significant penalty imposed should send a clear message to any company thinking about working outside their obliga- tions under the Act.”
THE LARGEST FINE EVER
ISSUED UNDER AUSTRALIA’S STRICT OZONE PROTECTION LAWS HAS BEEN HANDED DOWN TO A VICTORIA-BASED FIRE PROTECTION COMPANY FOR THE UNLAWFUL IMPORTATION OF HYDROFLUOROCARBON (HFC).
FOLLOWING A CIVIL prosecution from the Department of Agriculture, Water and Envi- ronment, last month the Federal Court of Australia, found ACN 089 171 415 Pty Ltd, for- merly known as Fire Protection Technologies Pty Ltd, to be in contravention of section 13(1) of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Green- house Gas Management Act 1989.
The company has been ordered to pay a civil penalty of $500,000.
Importing HFC without a licence is a breach of the Act and the maximum penalty for each contravention of unlicensed importation is $2,100,000. The court noted that the company has also undertaken to pay clean-up costs for the remaining amount of HFC-227ea.
Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley.
Multi-billion dollar investment in housing
THE VICTORIAN BUDGET 2020/21 has deliv- ered a $5.3 billion Big Housing Build to construct more than 12,000 new homes throughout metro and regional Victoria.
The funding boost will support around 10,000 jobs per year over the next four years, to super- charge Victoria’s economic recovery through the pandemic and beyond.
Minister for Housing, Richard Wynne, said the package will boost the state’s social housing sup- ply by 10 per cent in just four years – providing a stable foundation for thousands of
A further 2,900 new affordable and low-cost homes will be built to help low-to-moderate income earners live closer to where they work and provide options for private rental.
Wynne said the program will de- liver secure, modern, and affordable
homes throughout Victoria – with 25 per cent of funding to be allocated to regional Victoria.
The new homes will meet 7-star energy efficiency standards, making them more com- fortable during summer and winter, and saving tenants on their power bills.
The unprecedented investment will boost Victoria’s economic recovery, generating an estimated $6.7 billion in economic activity and supporting a peak of more than 18,000 jobs – with 10 per cent of the work on major projects to be done by apprentices, cadets
and trainees.
A new government agency, Homes
Victoria, has been established to work across government, industry and the social housing sector to deliver this record housing growth and to manage existing public housing.
ABOVE: The funding boost will support around 10,000 jobs.
LEFT: Victorian Minister for Housing, Richard Wynne.
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