Understanding sustainability law

643 Pages·2018·4.203 MB·English

by  Rhett Dee Martin

Understanding
Sustainability Law
To those who make me think of the future — Alexandra and Catherine
Understanding
Sustainability Law
Rhett Martin
BComm (Melb), LLB (Melb), LLM (Deakin),
Grad Cert in Law Teaching (Monash), PhD (Fed)
Lecturer in Law, University of Southern Queensland
LexisNexis Butterworths
Australia
2018
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Martin, Rhett (Rhett Dee)
Title: Understanding Sustainability Law
ISBN: 9780409345476 (pbk)
9780409345483 (ebk)
Notes: Includes index.
Environmental law — Australia. Sustainability
Subjects: — Law and legislation — Australia. Climatic
changes — Law and legislation — Australia.
© 2018 Reed International Books Australia Pty Limited trading as LexisNexis.
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Preface
In the modern era, Australia has included sustainability criteria into regulation
and law, most noticeably through the adoption of principles of ecologically
sustainable development. The inclusion of these principles into conservation
and resource extraction legislation has spawned a category of law labelled
‘sustainability regulation’. Whilst conservationists might argue they do not go
far enough, their inclusion represents a considerable advance from previous
eras when the predominant thinking was to grow wealth by being masters of
our environment. Sustainability notions accept that rather than mastering or
controlling the Earth, we may gain a long-term sustainable future by acting in
a unified and purposeful manner, embracing shared responsibility to achieve
defined sustainability objectives.
The sustainability imperative is gaining momentum and to succeed, all
levels of government, business and the community must act as one. To do this
successfully, it will be necessary to address sustainability in regulation. Even
though there is progress, much more is required to get sustainability regulation
where it needs to be. Part of the problem is the tired notion that
environmental regulation acts as a brake on economic growth. The fact is that
sustainability is spawning new industries and innovative ways to produce
things. Limiting economic growth comes from poor planning and a lack of
imagination. It also comes from poorly drafted regulation that impedes the
very thing it is trying to do. To change behaviour to embrace sustainability
requires careful drafting that gets the balance right between economic growth
and sustainably protecting the environment. They are not mutually exclusive
concepts; instead they can be mutually reinforcing but it requires
understanding of how competing aims can be reconciled in regulation.
This book addresses one aspect of the sustainability imperative — awareness
of the law. By describing the multifaceted nature of sustainability regulation,
students, teachers, and anyone interested in sustainability will understand how
law and sustainability intersect.
With understanding comes a greater awareness of the key drivers of that
intersection. Unfettered consumerism is no longer possible, but economic
growth remains a key policy target, but that will depend on the bounty
provided by nature. We need to respect this, and recognise limits to the
Earth’s carrying capacity as an integral part of policymaking. Sustaining Earth’s
life support systems and a sustainable economic growth model are inherently
interconnected. Humankind is part of the ecosystem and everything is
interconnected. Sustainability regulation will provide a way forward by
addressing the balance between sustaining ecosystems and economic growth.
Getting that balance right requires understanding the constituent elements of
both. It also requires understanding how regulation changes behaviour.
Regulation requires a nuanced approach to address the very complexity
inherent in ecosystems. In that respect there is still a long way to go. However,
Understanding Sustainability Law introduces where we are and where we need
to go to in sustainability regulation to help ensure the prosperity of humankind
on the Earth.
Rhett Martin
June 2017
Table of Cases
References are to paragraph numbers
A
Anderson v Director General, Department of Environment and Conservation
(2006) 144 LGERA 43 …. 2.47
— v Director General of the Department of Environment and Climate
Change (2008) 163 LGERA 400 …. 2.21, 2.48
B
BGP Properties Pty Ltd v Lake Macquarie City Council (2004) 138 LGERA
237; [2004] NSWLEC 399 …. 2.37, 2.41
Blue Wedges Inc v Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts (2008)
165 FCR 211 …. 2.18
Booth v Bosworth (2001) 14 FCR 39; 117 LGERA 168; [2001] FCA 1453
…. 5.40
BT Goldsmith Planning Services Pty Ltd v Blacktown City Council [2005]
NSWLEC 210 …. 2.38
Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association Inc v Minister for Planning and
Infrastructure (2013) 194 LGERA 347; [2013] NSWLEC 48 …. 2.23
Byron Shire Council v Vaughan [2009] NSWLEC 88 …. 3.48
C
Carbon v Palos Verdes Estates Pty Ltd [1990] ELR 179 …. 6.29
Charles and Howard Pty Ltd v Redland Shire Council [2006] QPEC 95 ….
3.64
Chesol Pty Ltd v Logan City Council [2007] QPELR 285; [2007] QPEC 1
…. 2.23, 2.60
Coastal Waters Alliance of Western Australia Inc v Environmental Protection
Authority (1996) 90 LGERA 136 …. 6.45
Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1 …. 3.13
Conservation Council of SA v DAC Tuna Boat Owners Assoc (No 3) [2000]
SAERDC 67 …. 2.40
CSR Ltd v Caboolture Shire Council [2001] QPELR 398 …. 2.40
D
Development Assessment Commission v A & V Contractors Pty Ltd (2011)
109 SASR 276; [2011] SASCFC 21 …. 2.24
E
East Melbourne Group Inc v Minister of Planning (2008) 23 VR 605; [2008]
VSCA 217 …. 2.23
Enfield City Corporation v Development Assessment Commission (2000) 106
LGERA 419 …. 6.44
Environment East Gippsland Inc v VicForests [2009] VSC 386 …. 1.106,
11.8, 11.42, 11.46, 12.60
— v — [2010] VSC 335 …. 11.79, 11.81
Environment Protection Authority v Great Southern Energy (1999) 110
LGERA 254; [1999] NSWLEC 192 …. 6.63
— v Terrace Earthmoving Pty Ltd (No 3) (2016) 217 LGERA 222; [2016]
NSWLEC 50 …. 10.10, 10.11
— v Waste Recycling and Processing Corporation (2006) 148 LGERA 299
…. 2.57
F
Friends of Hinchinbrook Society Inc. v Minister for Environment (1997) 93
LGERA 249 …. 2.34
G
Gippsland Coastal Board v South Gippsland Shire Council (No 2) [2008]
VCAT 1545 …. 3.64
Gray v Minister for Planning (2006) 152 LGERA 258; [2006] NSWLEC 720
…. 2.46, 3.51
Greenpeace Australia Ltd v Redbank Power Co Pty Ltd (1994) 86 LGERA
143 …. 2.37
H