Haughton v Minister for Planning and Macquarie Generation; Haughton v Minister for Planning and TRUenergy Pty Ltd
COURT OR TRIBUNAL
New South Wales Land and Environment Court
DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)
15/09/2010
LITIGATION TYPE
Project Approval - Mitigation
SUBJECT MATTER
Coal-fired and gas-fired power station
REVIEW TYPE
Judicial review
SUMMARY
Haughton challenged the Minister for Planning's approval of a concept plan for two coal-fired power stations, arguing that the Minister had not considered principles of ecologically sustainable development and anthropogenic climate change considerations, as an element of public interest. The Court found that although the Minister is required to consider the public interest, that requirement is a general one. The Minister was not bound to consider any specific element of the public interest such as the principles of ESD or the impacts of the development on climate change. Rather, these are issues that can be balanced with other issues relevant to the public interest, including the need to secure the supply of electricity for the State. A failure to consider any one of these issues will not invalidate the decision. The Minister was not required to refer specifically to the principles of ESD in his decision.
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