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The family of an environment compliance officer gunned down during a prolonged and terrifying ordeal have welcomed the de facto life sentence for his killer but say it will never bring back Glen Turner.
Ian Turnbull, now 81, used a hunting rifle to murder Mr Turner, 51, who was on public land with a colleague on July 29, 2014, near the farmer's property at Croppa Creek, near Moree.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Peter Johnson jailed Turnbull for a maximum of 35 years for the "terrifying and shattering" murder and for detaining his colleague for advantage at gunpoint.
Speaking after the sentence was handed down, Mr Turner's wife Alison McKenzie said the de facto life sentence was more than what they had expected.
"It's the end of a long road for us. It'll never bring Glen back so no matter what sentence was given, it's never going to change what happened and I'm just glad justice has prevailed," she said.
"I've grown used to Glen not being around, but the circumstances in which it happened, I will never ever be able to accept."
During a judgment spanning an hour-and-a-half in front of a packed courtroom, Justice Johnson said he did not accept Turnbull had shown genuine remorse for the murder, or detaining Robert Strange at gunpoint for more than 20 minutes.
"The events on Talga Lane on 29 July, 2014, involved the offender prolonging the process of murdering Mr Turner, thereby heightening the terror to which Mr Turner was subjected, before the final and fatal show was fired," he said.
Justice Johnson said Turnbull's desire to clear the properties to increase their value and productivity was what brought him under notice of the OEH.
"I am satisfied that the offender's motive involved a desire for retaliation or revenge because of the offender's belief that Mr Turner had been interfering with his efforts to clear and develop the two properties," he said.
Mr Turner's sister Fran Pearce said the minimum sentence of 24 years for the murder and detaining at gunpoint of Mr Turner's colleague, Robert Strange - the only witness to the terrifying ordeal, was justification.
"He is going to suffer for the rest of his life for what he saw and what he tried to do, so we're really grateful that he was acknowledged in the sentencing," she said.
"And I think the other two people that need to be remembered are Jack and Alexandra, you know they don't have their father for the rest of their lives so he needed to be sentenced for a long time today."
Justice Peter Johnson said there was a finding of special circumstances because of Turnbull's age and health but he said that should not "leave open the possibility that offender may be released on parole before he dies".
"I have taken into account that this sentence will almost certainly constitute a de facto life sentence, with the offender dying in custody before the expiration of the non-parole period," he said.
"I am satisfied that no lesser sentence is appropriate in all the circumstances of the case."
"The frustration that's out there, it's not just my father, there are many people out there in rural NSW that are extremely frustrated, extremely frustrated with the way it is administered and the act itself, it just needs to change"
- Grant Turnbull
Following the sentencing, Turnbull's son, Grant Turnbull, said his father was dealing with the life sentence.
"Coping, coping is the best way to go," he told media.
He said the murder prosecution and legal proceedings in the Land and Environment Court for alleged illegal land clearing had put his family under immense financial pressure, and took aim at the Native Vegetation Act.
"The frustration that's out there, it's not just my father, there are many people out there in rural NSW that are extremely frustrated, extremely frustrated with the way it is administered and the act itself, it just needs to change," he said
The court heard the Turnbull, a hard-working and old-fashioned farmer, has a life expectancy of just eight years in prison, and will not be eligible for parole until 2038.