19:
150:, into the national park. Breaking or circumventing barricades meant to keep vehicles out, they parked near a stand of foxtail palms and set off on foot. Barbagallo was later to admit he had illegally removed seeds from this location on a previous visit, but this time he claimed he was there simply to photograph the palm's habitat.
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veteran named Pat Shears, set off on foot while his colleagues remained with their vehicle at the park boundary. Shears discovered the vehicle and determined, based on the location, the rifles and the chainsaw, that it belonged to smugglers. Hearing
Barbagallo's party in the distance and fearing they
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were among the buyers of the illegally-obtained plants. When 18,000 foxtail palms were seized from
Sheldon Palms proprietor David Cochran in 1992, the specimens were hurriedly returned. Cochran's alleged links to the Government and role in smuggling were examined by the State's anti-corruption
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The following morning Atkins, Uechtritz and the brothers
Barbagallo went to Cooktown police station. The four men, the police sergeant and Shears met to discuss the incident. Shears claimed the Premier's staffers "grilled" him on his conduct. Ahead of the meeting Atkins telephoned DEH
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determined that this would be unfair to the participants. The
Opposition criticised this decision, noting Barnes's links to the ruling Labor Party and questioning whether his aim was to spare the government embarrassment. Barnes went on to exonerate Emerson, Barbagallo and Atkins.
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Two weeks later, Shears was dismissed by the DEH. Both
Uechtritz and Paul Barbagallo were charged with a number of offences in relation to the incident, though some of the charges against Barbagallo were later withdrawn. Paul Barbagallo was fined a few hundred dollars.
95:. The tree was unknown beyond the local Aboriginal community until 1978, but its beauty meant it was an instant hit with urban gardeners the world over. By the mid-1980s, illegal harvesting of the plant's seeds for nurseries had become widespread.
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called on the CJC to investigate the matter. The
Commission announced an inquiry into the incident in March 1994, later expanding this to include allegations that David Barbagallo had also protected Cochran from prosecution.
251:, questioned why such senior officials had gone to Cooktown to attend the interview, whether improper pressure was placed on public servants, and whether Shears had been dismissed as punishment for upholding the law.
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The Goss
Government was defeated in 1996, after which Shears was allowed to work as a ranger once more. Emerson went on to become a minister in the federal Labor Government led by Goss's chief of staff,
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Director-General, Craig
Emerson, about the powers of a ranger. Atkins and the brothers Barbagallo then made the six-hour drive to Starcke and, after 20–45 minutes, left the property.
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Though the palm was not endangered, the smugglers caused significant damage to the area by vandalising park gates, trampling undergrowth, felling whole stands of trees,
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157:(DEH). A group of DEH rangers discovered the Land Cruiser's tyre tracks and, knowing smugglers were active in the area, decided to investigate. One of their number, a
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The
Government's position on foxtail palm seed smuggling was unclear. While the police fauna squad and park rangers fought the practice, government agencies such as
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Pressure on the foxtail palm eased as the number of specimens in nurseries has increased, meaning that seeds need no longer be smuggled from Cape
Melville.
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202:. The reasons for their visit are disputed. The men claimed that the timing was a coincidence: they were going to visit Starcke, a
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On 10 November 1993, a group of people led by banana farmer Paul Barbagallo and his neighbour, Gordon Uechtritz, camped at
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to the granite boulder fields of the Melville Range, within Cape Melville National Park on Queensland's remote
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268:. Behind the scenes, her head of media, Barton Green, were leaking material intended to discredit Shears.
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ranger station, and informed his superior and Cooktown police of the incident. Shears's superior,
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Although the Commission was generally obliged to hold public hearings, presiding officer
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adjacent to Cape Melville National Park, ahead of a planned visit by Premier
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David Barbagallo and Atkins worked in the office of then Premier Wayne Goss.
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were armed, he drove the Land Cruiser out of the park, secured it at the
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rather than reporting it immediately to the DEH regional office in
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190:'s office arrived in Cooktown, one being Barbagallo's brother and
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126:(CJC), as part of its Cape Melville incident inquiry in 1994.
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A report of an investigation into the Cape Melville incident
302:. David Barbagallo became chief of staff to Labor Premier
170:, advised Shears to leave the matter in the hands of the
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On 12 November two senior officials from the Queensland
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refused to answer questions about the affair in the
46:, on 11 November 1993. The incident precipitated a
494:"Palaszczuk, her chief of staff, and $ 267,500"
450:"Cape Melville affair coverage: what is news?"
8:
377:"Most famous tree still under a legal cloud"
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198:, the other being the chief media adviser
30:was a series of events that took place in
153:The park was managed by the State's then
102:protected wildlife and depleting natural
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418:. Brisbane: Criminal Justice Commission
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155:Department of Environment and Heritage
409:O'Regan, Robert; et al. (1994).
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276:National Party Environment spokesman
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326:Hoskin, Conrad (28 November 2016).
262:on the grounds that the matter was
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528:November 1993 events in Australia
457:Australian Studies in Journalism
543:Political scandals in Australia
448:Conley, David; Turner, Geoff.
234:The story broke in Brisbane's
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492:Elks, Sarah (24 July 2019).
328:"Cape Melville's lost world"
192:Principal Private Secretary
124:Criminal Justice Commission
32:Cape Melville National Park
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479:"Amazing Aussie scandals"
22:Seeds of the foxtail palm
518:1993 crimes in Australia
348:"Operation Foxtail Palm"
272:Corruption investigation
538:Politics of Queensland
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164:Rinyirru National Park
28:Cape Melville incident
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533:History of Queensland
333:Australian Geographic
304:Annastacia Palaszczuk
254:Environment Minister
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130:Barbagallo expedition
115:Cairns Port Authority
111:Southbank Corporation
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481:. Amazing Australia.
260:Legislative Assembly
240:on 28 November. The
59:Cape Melville affair
523:Crime in Queensland
140:Toyota Land Cruiser
93:Cape York Peninsula
63:Foxtail palm affair
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85:Wodyetia bifurcata
38:police station in
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379:. Melaleuca Media
352:Queensland Police
222:Political scandal
48:political scandal
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354:. 12 August 2014
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196:David Barbagallo
182:Police interview
144:automatic rifles
69:The foxtail palm
55:State Government
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286:Michael Barnes
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122:watchdog, the
73:Main article:
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356:. Retrieved
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256:Molly Robson
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249:Rob Borbidge
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136:Bathurst Bay
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87:) is a tree
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81:foxtail palm
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75:Foxtail palm
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237:Sunday Mail
159:Vietnam War
512:Categories
313:References
300:Kevin Rudd
278:Doug Slack
265:sub judice
245:opposition
208:Wayne Goss
104:seed banks
40:Queensland
459:: 139–141
422:1 October
293:Aftermath
247:, led by
44:Australia
148:chainsaw
100:poaching
50:for the
36:Cooktown
463:25 July
383:27 July
358:25 July
188:Premier
89:endemic
176:Cairns
172:police
146:and a
453:(PDF)
416:(PDF)
52:Labor
465:2019
424:2021
385:2019
360:2019
117:and
79:The
34:and
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