Environment minister pays tribute to 51-year-old officer who was killed while reportedly serving a notice in relation to land clearing

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

A 79-year-old man has been charged with murder over the shooting of an environment officer in northern New South Wales.

The officer from the NSW Environment and Heritage Office went to a rural property on Tuesday north of Moree where he was allegedly shot dead.

Police found the body of the 51-year-old officer on the Croppa Creek property. He was named by local media as Glen Turner, a married father of two from Tamworth.

Ian Turnbull was arrested nearby and was charged with murder at Moree local court on Wednesday. He did not apply for bail and his case was adjourned until 5 August.



NSW minister for the environment, Rob Stokes, said he was deeply saddened by the death.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the family and tight-knit staff of the Office of Environment and Heritage at this most difficult time,” Stokes said in a statement.

“It is hard to fathom how it is that someone who leaves for work in the morning does not return in the afternoon.”

“On behalf of the chief executive OEH Terry Bailey and my colleagues in the NSW Government, our hearts go out to all those who have been impacted by this tragedy,” Stokes said.

Fairfax Media reported Turner had been serving a notice at the property in relation to the clearing of vegetation. It is thought he was with a colleague.

The Moree Shire Plains mayor, Katrina Humphries, said the community had been embroiled in tensions over environmental issues ranging from coal seam gas to land clearing.



“I am not saying it flippantly and I mean it, I am not surprised this has happened,” she said.



“ ... I know people have been pushed and pushed and pushed. This is their life and this is their livelihood.”

An ecologist, Phil Spark, who has worked in the Croppa Creek community, says some landholders knew they couldn’t afford to lose another tree on the sparse landscape.



But others were clearing vegetation to take advantage of the rich agricultural soil and there was friction between groups.



The federal agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce, said farmers overwhelmingly hated native vegetation laws, which had created incredible animosity towards the government.



“This is not an isolated incident, this is just the worst of a range of incidents,” he said.



Joyce said there was heat over the issue because people had had their private property taken from them.



“People who owned a certain asset, this time trees, had it taken off them by the government without payment and it created animosity towards the government.”



The Office of Environment and Heritage said Turner was one of their most experienced compliance officers.



“He was a respected and well-liked colleague and friend to many,” its chief executive, Terry Bailey, said.



“The loss of a colleague touches us all, even more so under such tragic circumstances.”