Environmental community rights

Projects that irreparably damage the environment get approved even in the face of overwhelming community opposition. Why is this the case?

Governments aren’t required to give communities a fair say in environmental decision-making, which means they can make environmentally destructive decisions despite public outcry.

Instead of listening to the community – to community groups, environmental organisations and scientists – governments are most influenced by corporations that profit from the destruction of nature.

In other words, our system of environmental decision-making lacks integrity.

Australia's lack of genuine community involvement in environmental decision-making has serious ongoing impacts. It is driving a wildlife extinction crisis, destroying globally important ecosystems, and people are left to suffer the consequences.

Governments and corporations should be accountable to the community for decisions that affect nature and the state it’s left in for future generations.

The public has the right to a fair say in decisions about, for example, the industrial logging of unique forests, the destruction of endangered species habitat and the expansion of the fossil fuel industry in wilderness areas.

Yet too often critical documents are withheld from concerned people, decision-makers conduct tick-box consultation and then ignore the community’s views, and the right to seek a review of bad decisions is denied.

It’s clear, given the worsening climate and biodiversity crises, that this system is not working for nature or people.

That’s why the Wilderness Society is pushing for governments and corporations across Australia to enshrine and activate community rights in environmental decision-making. We recently sent an open letter to Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on behalf of over 80 concerned signatories, including First Nations groups, NGOs and community groups, calling for reforms to the EPBC Act to enshrine a fair say for the community.

If the public is empowered with laws, policies and regulations that recognise our right to a fair say in decision-making, we’ll ensure a better future for people and nature.

The United Nations specifically recognised the need for people to have a genuine say in environmental decisions in 1992 as part of the Rio Declaration. Europe committed to these rights in 2001, but Australia has not done the same—despite being a signatory to the Rio Declaration.

All communities in Australia have three basic universal rights that should be recognised to ensure they get a meaningful say in environmental decision-making:

1. The right to know—access the information authorities hold.

2. The right to participate—have a genuine say in decision-making.

3. The right to challenge—seek legal remedy if decisions are made illegally or not in the public interest.

These environmental community rights function as a system, not as a series of disconnected rights. Each right interacts with and supports the function of the others—so it’s essential that all three are embedded in laws, policies and regulations or there will be critical gaps in the integrity of environmental decision-making by governments and corporations across Australia.

First Nations people have unique internationally-recognised rights that should be enshrined in Australian law and practice, as set out by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other UN agreements.

UNDRIP codified a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the First Nations peoples of the world—a declaration that Australia endorsed in 2009 but is yet to implement.

Over thousands of generations, hundreds of culturally diverse First Nations communities have lived on this continent we call Australia, living as one with cultural landscapes and applying sustainable management and cultural practices. First Nations communities continue to remain strongly connected with their living culture, despite legal and political systems continuing to deny and disrespect their cultural authority and human rights.

The destruction of Juukan Gorge sacred sites highlights the systematic failure to embed Indigenous rights, as listed in the UNDRIP, in relevant Commonwealth and state laws and practice.

Indigenous rights, including to give or withhold free, prior and informed consent, need to be embedded in the laws and practices of all jurisdictions of Australian governments, corporations and organisations.

Building free, prior and informed consent requirements into our laws will empower First Nations peoples to have their say and be in control of their cultural heritage.