A fund established to help farmers fight nationally significant court cases will pay for some of the legal costs of a company part-owned by Angus Taylor to challenge a finding that it destroyed critically endangered grasslands.
The Australian Farmers’ Fighting Fund, which is administered by the National Farmers’ Federation, is providing financial support for the federal court case, which was launched by Jam Land in December.
Jam Land is part-owned by the energy minister and his brother Richard Taylor, who is also one of the company’s directors.
Late last year, a ministerial review affirmed that Jam Land had illegally cleared up to 28.5 hectares of natural temperate grassland on a property in Corrowong in southern NSW and was required to remediate. It also found the clearing to be in breach of a civil penalty provision of the environmental protection legislation.
Jam Land was ordered to restore 103 hectares of grasslands on the property in the Monaro region of New South Wales.
The company is challenging the remediation determination and is seeking a declaration that the listing of the natural temperate grassland of the south-eastern highlands as critically endangered in 2016 by the then-environment minister, Greg Hunt, was invalid.
The respondent in the case is the current environment minister, Sussan Ley.
While Angus Taylor’s interest in Jam Land is through an indirect shareholding, it puts him in the unusual position of being connected to a case challenging the decision of one of his government’s own ministers.
Richard Taylor, who has previously described the legal action as a matter of principle, said the costs of the case were expected to amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He said through discussions Jam Land initiated via the NSW Farmers Association that the Australian Farmers’ Fighting Fund (AFFF) had agreed to make “a significant contribution”.
He declined to put a figure on the value of the contribution.
“One of the reasons that we’re pleased they have supported the case is that they support cases that are of significance to farmers,” Taylor said.
“It just demonstrates that the case is of great importance to agriculture.”
The fund, whose involvement in the case was first reported by the Weekly Times, has previously supported legal actions such as the successful class action launched by farmers in response to the 2011 ban on live cattle trade to Indonesia.
The fund did not answer specific questions from Guardian Australia but its chair, Hugh Nivison, provided a statement saying the fund had approved an application from Jam Land “for support in a matter concerning the interpretation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act”.
“In approving the application, the trustees determined the matter was a clear demonstration of the ambiguity and uncertainty in the act, and how the government’s approach to its implementation could have massive ramifications of farmers,” Nivison said.
“In supporting this case, the AFFF seeks to resolve that ambiguity and uncertainty so Australian farmers can manage their land for balanced production and environmental outcomes, knowing with certainty what rules they have to follow.”
The Jam Land investigation has been controversial because Angus Taylor sought meetings with senior environment officials about the grasslands while the investigation was under way. Documents released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws in 2019 revealed treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s office subsequently sought advice about whether laws protecting the grasslands could be changed.
Angus Taylor has repeatedly stated that he sought the meeting with departmental officials on behalf of constituents in Hume who were concerned about the grasslands listing.
He has previously said: “I did not make any representations to federal or state authorities in relation to any compliance action being undertaken.”
The department has previously said officials did not discuss the compliance matter with Taylor.
Both Taylor and Frydenberg have said the meeting was focused on the “technical aspects” of the grasslands listing.
Guardian Australia has been told Angus Taylor has had no involvement in the legal action, the decision to launch the appeal or the decision to seek support from the AFFF.
Additional comment was sought from Angus Taylor.
