A developer was recently fined the sum of $32,500 after pleading guilty to clearing over 3,200 square metres of bushland along the bank of the Blacks Creek in the Cudgen Nature Reserve, in contravention of the National Parks and Wildlife…
Following on from our earlier post on the successful challenge by the Tarkine National Coalition Incorporated in the Federal Court to the validity of the former Commonwealth Minister’s approval of an iron ore mine in north west Tasmania, the current…
The Federal Court in Tarkine National Coalition Incorporated v Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities [2013] FCA 694 has upheld a challenge to the validity of the Commonwealth Minister’s approval of an iron ore mine near Nelson Bay…
In Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association Inc v Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and Warkworth Mining Limited [2013] NSWLEC 48, Preston CJ of the Land and Environment Court (Court) overturned the Planning Assessment Commission’s (PAC) February 2012 Part3A approval of the expansion of open…
The Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DOPI) has recently published proposed amendments to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) 2007 (Mining SEPP) for public consultation. The purpose of the proposed amendments is to prohibit coal…
On 22 October 2012 the Coastal Protection Amendment Act 2012 (Amendment Act) was passed. It has not yet commenced. Once it does commence, it will amend the Coastal Protection Act 1979 (Act) in a number of ways which could be seen…
In Environmental Protection Authority v Queanbeyan City Council (No. 3) [2012] NSWLEC 220, the Land and Environment Court considered what was the appropriate sentence to impose in respect of an offence by the Council of polluting waters under s120 of…
On 1 September 2012 the Heritage Regulation 2005 was repealed and immediately replaced by the Heritage Regulation 2012.
In simple terms, the mechanisms established by the Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth) to deal with climate change include establishing thresholds for greenhouse gas emissions and imposing unit shortfall charges measured in carbon units for emissions that exceed the threshold. This is what is commonly referred…
On 6 March 2012, the Minister for Planning & Infrastructure, together with the Minister for Resources and Energy, announced the release of a draft Code of Practice for Coal Seam Gas Exploration (‘the Draft Code’). The Draft Code is part of…
Walker Corporation Pty Ltd (Walker) was charged with clearing of native vegetation otherwise than in accordance with a development consent granted under the Native Vegetation Act 2003 (NV Act) or a property vegetation plan. Preston CJ delivered a judgment in…
In Hoxton Park Residents Action Group Inc v Liverpool City Council [2011] NSWCA 349, the NSW Court of Appeal upheld a challenge to the validity of a development consent and made some interesting findings about the consent authority’s obligation to…