The Full Federal Court of Australia has upheld an appeal by the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, overturning a landmark lower court decision that held that the Minister owed a duty of care to protect Australian children from climate change-related…
UPDATE: Court of Appeal overturns LEC decision on dominant use of land ‘mining’ for rating purposes
13 May, 2021
In June 2020, we blogged about a decision of the Land and Environment Court (LEC) which significantly raised the rating liability for mining companies that ‘hold’ land for mining purposes under the Local Government Act 1993. Since then, the landowner…
The Department of Planning and Infrastructure has recently published a consultation draft of proposed amendments to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) 2007 (Mining SEPP) to clarify how the significance of a resource is to…
New approval granted to Tasmanian iron ore mine
1 Aug, 2013
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…
Federal Court decision to benefit Tasmanian devils
30 Jul, 2013
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…
Tighter controls on coal seam gas exploration
27 Mar, 2012
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…
Conditions proposed by objector requiring carbon offsets in Part 3A coal mine expansion upheld
1 Dec, 2011
In Hunter Environment Lobby Inc v Minister for Planning & Anor [2011] NSWLEC 221, Pain J in the Land & Environment Court determined an appeal on the merits broughtby an environmental lobby group against an approval granted by the Minister under Part 3A of…