MEMBERS
Facebook-f Twitter Youtube

Supreme Court

Justice Craig Bydder
Legal

Update on Tony Maddox court case

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision mid-year in the appeal brought by Toodyay farmer Tony Maddox – a case that has become a test of how Western Australia’s Aboriginal Heritage laws are applied to ordinary landholders. Last Friday the Supreme Court heard that the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage did not notify anyone that all the tributaries of the Avon River were being considered for inclusion on the government’s Register

Read More »
Darren Brown February 26, 2026
Tony Maddox at the Perth Supreme Court. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper/The West Australian
News Clippings

Countryman: Toodyay landholder Tony Maddox fronts court for Aboriginal Land Heritage Act 1972 appeal

Toodyay landholder Tony Maddox fought back tears before heading into WA’s Supreme Court to appeal a criminal conviction for building a culvert on his private land on Friday. Maddox, a former real estate agent, was convicted under the Aboriginal Land Heritage Act 1972 last year after he was charged and fined $2000 for repairing an existing creek crossing on his property, without knowing part of his land had been designated a site of cultural significance.

Read More »
Darren Brown February 24, 2026
News Clippings

Farm Weekly: Court case to defend rights of everyone

When Tony Maddox walks into the Supreme Court tomorrow, Friday, February 20, supporters say he will be carrying more than his own defence. He will be testing how Aboriginal heritage law applies to freehold farmland across WA. The Toodyay farmer has pursued a judge-only appeal against his conviction for breaching WA’s unamended Aboriginal Heritage Act (ACHA) 1972, after undertaking works on a creek crossing at his property in 2022. Found guilty in the Magistrates Court

Read More »
Darren Brown February 19, 2026
Toodyay landholder Tony Maddox. Credit: Iain Gillespie/The West Australian
News Clippings

The Countryman: WAFarmers, PGA double down on Tony Maddox support as he prepares to head to Supreme Court

The following article appeared today on The Countryman newspaper website today. WAFarmers, PGA double down on Tony Maddox support as he prepares to head to Supreme Court Cally Dupe | Countryman WA’s two main agricultural lobby groups have doubled down on their support for Toodyay landholder Tony Maddox, while reassuring members that no levy or membership funds are being used to fight his case. WAFarmers and the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia said

Read More »
Darren Brown February 4, 2026
Media Releases

Joint media statement regarding Tony Maddox Aboriginal Heritage appeal advertising

Advertising to raise awareness of, and support for, a Supreme Court appeal of charges laid under the Aboriginal Heritage Act will begin in commercial media this week. The Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia (PGA) and WAFarmers are supporting Mr Maddox with in-kind services only, no financial contribution. BACKGROUND Why are WAFarmers and the PGA supporting Tony Maddox? The Tony Maddox case has highlighted many shared concerns about the management of WA’s cultural heritage

Read More »
Darren Brown February 2, 2026
News Clippings

Farm Weekly: KC joins Maddox property rights appeal

The following article was published in the Farm Weekly today KING’S Counsel Mark Trowell has joined the fight to overturn charges laid on Toodyay farmer Tony Maddox for repairing a creek crossing without knowing he had to apply for the minister’s approval. Mr Maddox is hoping Mr Trowell’s experience will undo the precedent that could open the floodgates for hundreds of others to be charged for unknowingly breaching cultural heritage laws. “This is a case of bureaucracy

Read More »
Darren Brown January 22, 2026
Legal

Victorian Supreme Court dismisses “busybody” animal activist case

  WAFarmers has welcomed the decision of Victorian Supreme Court Justice Andrew Keogh to dismiss the claims of an animal activist group that an abattoir in Benalla operated by CA Sinclair Pty Ltd (Sinclair) should be banned from using Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to stun pigs before termination. Justice Keogh remarked that Animals Australia took the civil action against Sinclair despite having “no relevant ties to the area or the community” and because it, “has demonstrated

Read More »
Darren Brown December 3, 2025
Facebook Twitter Youtube

Recent Posts

Archives

Archives