Northam Magistrates Court. Picture: Gera Kazakov

Toodyay heritage cases adjourned

Toodyay real estate agent Tony Maddox and the Shire of Toodyay will be back in court in March.
February 29, 2024
Gera Kazakov

MARCH will see Toodyay real estate agent Tony Maddox and the Shire of Toodyay back before the magistrate over a series of creek crossings that have been built over Boyagerring Brook and Toodyay Brook.

The Shire of Toodyay will be back at Northam Magistrates Court on March 25 over a series of creek crossings that were built over Toodyay Brook and Boyagerring Brook.

At the first hearing on February 26, the shire entered no plea and the case was adjourned.

In Toodyay shire cops’ heritage charges the shire had received four charges of excavated, damaged, and otherwise altered an Aboriginal site, alongside four charges of a person who excavated, destroyed, damaged, concealed or in any way altered any Aboriginal site.

If convicted the shire faces a fine of $50,000. The charges were laid under the amended Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.

Toodyay real estate agent Tony Maddox is also due back in Perth Magistrates Court on March 6.

Mr Maddox is also facing a charge of a person who excavated, destroyed, damaged, concealed or in any way altered an Aboriginal site over a creek crossing which was built to cross Boyagerring Brook.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mr Maddox is being defended by former Attorney-General Christian Porter, whose move to scrap the trial failed after his argument that the maps used to record Aboriginal cultural heritage by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage were inaccurate.

Magistrate Andrew Matthews rejected Mr Porters application on the grounds that even if the evidence is “tenuous or weak” it was still capable of supporting a guilty verdict.

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