I think the sticking point here was that he was given approval by the Victorian government which failed to communicate with the federal government. Arguably you

I think the sticking point here was that he was given approval by the Victorian government which failed to communicate with the federal government. Arguably you can frame it as his fault that he did not get an assurance from the federal government, but a reasonable person would not expect the state government to have failed to secure the required assurances from the federal government.