Overview
- Magistrate Reg Marron fined Graeme Elphinstone $12,000 without recording a conviction and ordered $80.22 in court costs.
- Elphinstone had been found guilty in March 2025 of nine counts of interfering with a relic after clearing vegetation at his Little Swanport property in January 2023.
- The magistrate said the offending sat at the lower end of seriousness and did not involve removing or destroying artefacts.
- He found the conduct reckless because Elphinstone ought to have known the area was a significant Aboriginal site.
- The defence argued he acted after trespass-related damage and lacked awareness, while the prosecution urged deterrence to protect Aboriginal culture.