Environmental and planning law has many interactions with science and public health initiatives. Fluoridation of water, like many other public health issues, is an emotive issue which over time has led to the creation of various community opposition groups. One of the mechanisms these groups have used to oppose fluoridation is judicial review in the…
On 11 June 2015, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Trives v Hornsby Shire Council [2015] NSWCA 158. This decision allowed the applicant’s appeal from the decision of Craig J in the Land and Environment Court, which we discussed in our blog below. As the blog below analysed the implications of Craig J’s…
To what extent does the categorisation of land as community land stymie development? In what circumstances can works be carried out on community land for the purposes of development on an adjoining property? What happens in circumstances where a Council fails to properly categorise land? These questions were covered in the recent decision of Watpac…
Do you ever drive past old service station sites and ask questions like: Why did the petrol station close down? With property values so high, why is the site lying dormant? Who is responsible for any petrol spills that contaminate the land? I regularly asked these questions after a summer job during my university years working…
The Protection of the Environment Legislation Amendment Bill 2014, introduced to the Legislative Assembly on 12 August, proposes to strengthen NSW environmental enforcement laws, and introduces the concept of ‘restorative justice’ into environmental enforcement. ‘Restorative justice’ is described in the second reading speech for the Bill as a process that: “brings together both an offender…
Planning and Environment in NSW 