Anthony Josef Zivolic, 25, from the Melbourne suburb of Berwick, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to six charges of cutting firewood, five charges of removing firewood, six charges of damaging a wildlife habitat, and illegally using a vehicle on public land in contravention of the Land Conservation Interim Regulations.
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action Prosecutor Mark Breguet said Zivolic cut and took more than 10 cubic metres of red gum firewood from the Mansfield Swamp Wildlife Reserve in Carag Carag from July 22 to August 19, 2023.
Surveillance cameras installed to target illegal firewood collecting caught Zivolic entering the reserve on Pineo Rd in a Toyota HiLux with an empty tray, and leaving the reserve with the tray filled with red gum firewood multiple times over the four weeks.
When he was interviewed, Zivolic said he didn’t know it was illegal to collect firewood for private use.
Mr Breguet said Zivolic’s offending resulted in long-term damage and destruction to the wildlife habitat in the reserve.
Zivolic’s defence counsel said her client showed genuine remorse for his actions and understood the seriousness of his offending.
She said there was no financial or malicious intent behind Zivolic’s actions and the firewood was for a friend’s recreational off-grid farm.
Magistrate Olivia Trumble acknowledged Zivolic didn’t understand what he was doing was illegal.
However she said there was a “real issue” with this type of offending across the state and “others need to be deterred from this sort of conduct”.
Zivolic was fined $3000 without conviction.
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