Your Water Your Say Inc v Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Federal Court of Australia

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

16/05/2008

LITIGATION TYPE

Constitutional and Human Rights / State Accountability

SUBJECT MATTER

Statutory Duty

REVIEW TYPE

Judicial review

SUMMARY

Your Water Your Say Inc (YWYS) brought proceedings against the Minister in the Federal Court. YWYS sought judicial review of the alleged decision of the Minister’s delegate to exclude certain preliminary works from a decision to authorize the construction of a desalination plant in Victoria. In making their application for judicial review, YWYS contended that the Minister had failed to take into account the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the project, and its associated impact on wetlands and threatened species, which were protected Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (‘EPBC Act’). Heerey J, in approving the proposed desalination plant, held that the agency had adequately considered the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on protected matters under EPBC Act. In any event, Heerey J agreed with the Minister’s submission that the ‘decision’ to exclude the preliminary works was not actually a ‘decision’ capable of being judicially reviewed, as the original proposal that was submitted to the Ministers office did not include these preliminary works.

CASE DOCUMENTS

Your Water Your Say Inc v Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts [2008] FCA 670