Wednesday, 14 February, 2007

ABC NT Local News

The case of the "midnight miner" has wrapped up in the Northern Territory Supreme Court with government lawyers accusing the Perth entrepreneur of flagrantly breaching the law.

Norm McCleary believes he beat dozens of multinational mining companies by pegging a midnight claim over the Angela and Pamela uranium deposits in central Australia last December.

The mining warden had denied him permission to go onto the land but Mr McCleary says he did not know and is appealing against the warden's decision.

In his closing submissions counsel for the Northern Territory Government, John Reeves, QC, described Mr McCleary's actions as a land grab and said he acted in deliberate, flagrant and repeated breach of the law.

Justice Trevor Riley has reserved his decision.