No Legal Aid for Environment cases in NSW: Then we cut the Green Tape?
Wednesday 10 July 2013 @ 10.28 a.m. | Legal Research
There appears to be a major move among various state governments to revert or unwind the body of environmental laws and the means by which protection of the environment can be brought about. The most recent of these was recently reported in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) environment section where it was revealed that major environmental cases in NSW would no longer qualify for legal aid funding following cuts to the Legal Aid Service by the NSW state government.
As the SMH reports from 1 July 2013, environmental litigation will no longer qualify for legal aid support even if those cases are found to be in the public interest. Cases in areas no longer to be covered would include cases arising from major forestry, mining or pollution breaches.
This report follows on other recent media reports where, particularly in NSW, environmental protection legislation appears to be giving ground to the interests of those interested in logging, mining, shooting and fishing in National Parks and Reserves. Recently for example, the SMH reported that: "Logging would be allowed in NSW national parks and a freeze imposed on the declaration of new conservation areas under recommendations of a state parliamentary inquiry" (see The State Parliamentary Inquiry Into Land Use chaired by Robert Brown MP for the Shooters and Fishers Party).
SMH quotes the executive director of Environmental Defence Office NSW on the gravity of this trend, "There is little point in opening the doors to the courts if people cannot afford to come in . . ." As pointed out the decision is a reversal of a 27 year position that has seen such cases get Legal Aid Funding. Funding that has been used for example; to save vital forests in the early 1990s, by supporting a number of legal actions that tested forestry practices and environmental impact assessments.
The NSW opposition has attacked the move referring to it as the "latest in a long line of attacks on the environment under the O'Farrell government . . . In what are already David versus Goliath legal cases, the O'Farrell government is only tipping the balance even further in favour of big industry over the local communities trying to protect our environment."
With similar notions now being put forward by the federal opposition through its recent announcement of a "removal of green tape" policy and its announced intent to leave more environmental decisions to the States, it would seem that interesting times lie ahead in the environmental law area and that some old battles may rise to be fought again.
Sources:
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