Talking to the press outside court. Australia needs strong environment laws that protect our environment and laws that allow people to act for the protection of the environment. We also need laws that don’t allow you to be sued and tied up in court for years for taking action to protect the environment. The law matters for the protection of our forests, oceans, woodlands and great arid wilderness. The law matters if we are to stop climate change.
- Protecting Public Participation
- Gunns Law Suit Against The Wilderness Society & Others
The oceans, forests, woodlands and arid areas, and the non-human species which inhabit them, can not speak for themselves. Environmental protection requires a civil society which supports environmental activity, and which fully supports public participation in the political debate and decision making processes.
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In December 2004, forestry giant Gunns Ltd sued The Wilderness Society, five of its staff, and 14 other conservation groups and individuals (including Green Members of Parliament, Bob Brown and Peg Putt) in relation to the campaign to protect Tasmania's forests. This is the so-called Gunns 20 case.
more »Legal updates
- Pulp mill stench exposed - July 01, 2009
- The Wilderness Society calls for better environment laws - January 13, 2009
On 30 June, the ABC’s 7:30 Report revealed documents which showed that the RPDC, the independent body which was assessing the proposed pulp mill before Gunns pulled out of the process, was seriously concerned odour from the mill would adversely affect the quality of life of people in the Tamar Valley.
The Wilderness Society has a strident critique of Australia’s federal environmental laws and is calling on the Rudd government to radically overhaul and improve them.
Legal Media Releases
- Federal Court dismisses lawyers’ challenge to pulp mill - April 09, 2009
- Law discharged from Gunns case - November 07, 2008
- Court rejects Gunns’ “fishing expedition” - November 07, 2008
Late on Easter Thursday (9 April 2009), Justice Tracey dismissed Lawyers for Forests application to overturn the Federal government approval of Gunns’ pulp mill. The decision is disappointing, but not unsurprising as it further highlights the fundamental flaws in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) - Australia’s primary environment legislation.
Wilderness Society Tasmania Campaign Manager, and Gunns 20 ex-defendant, Geoff Law calls for state and national law reform to prevent large companies from pursuing community groups or individuals in court cases that cost many times more than the likely damages to be awarded.
The Victorian Supreme Court today rejected an appeal by Gunns Ltd seeking a raft of documents from conservationists in the long running “Gunns20” case arising out the campaign to protect Tasmania’s forests.
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