Several planning permits were issued by the council, which were extended and then expired. By 2013, some of the tyres caught fire, putting locals at risk. Since that year, Sidebottom and the council have been in and out of court - first at VCAT and then at the Supreme Court - where Justice Zammit presided over the case in 2015, 2016 and again this year. In the 2016 case, Sidebottom was ordered by Justice Zammit to dispose of the tyres over a 12-month period. But only about 345 of the approximately 5000 tonnes of tyres on the land were removed between the time the order was made in late 2016 and February this year, the council told the court.

Since 2014, a mere seven per cent of the tyres have been removed. The council brought the case back to the Supreme Court in January this year in a bid to examine whether Sidebottom was in contempt of court by breaching the court's order. Justice Zammit found that Sidebottom could not have "honestly" believed he could carry out the court's ruling when he agreed to comply with the order in 2016. Loading Sidebottom pointed to various reasons for the delay - an increase in tyre processing fees and a lack of available trucks needed for the transfer. He also cited financial problems and an expensive loan he had to pay.

But Justice Zammit found Sidebottom should have known about these issues, or could have found them out, describing his actions as a "perverse refusal to accept the jurisdiction of the court". "Mr Sidebottom was therefore prepared to say and do whatever was necessary to gain more time. He knowingly gave the undertaking when there was no real prospect of compliance," Justice Zammit wrote in her ruling. "Mr Sidebottom to now say that he honestly believed he could comply with the undertaking, that he was naive and that he was ‘100 per cent sure’ of compliance, must be met with scepticism if not disbelief." Sidebottom apologised for his actions, and said he inherited the tyres on the land, but "made efforts" to have them removed. "I was not responsible for the tyres coming onto the property but I became director of the [company] in May 2015 to clean up the mess the company found itself in because of earlier mismanagement and because of that I am responsible for removal of the tyres," he told the court.

"I am extremely sorry to be back in court and I have never wanted to be in this position, but I have honestly done everything that I believe possible and to the best of my ability to comply with the orders." Moira Shire Council chief executive Mark Henderson said the case would send a "very clear message to polluters that if you are going to create an environmental and fire risk you will be penalised." "We welcome the news the Supreme Court has found in our favour and imposed a suitable penalty given that the most recent CFA risk assessment of the site is extreme with potentially catastrophic impacts on the Numurkah community were a large fire to take hold of the site," Mr Henderson said.