Environment

A Larrakia Danggalaba man has sought access to documents for a possible lawsuit over the federal government’s decision to greenlight the destruction of an Aboriginal cultural site to develop Defence housing. 

An appeals court has dismissed an environmental advocacy group’s challenge to the extension of two Mach Energy and Whitehaven Coal mega coal mines in NSW, saying the current environmental laws are “ill-suited” to dealing with the global threat of climate change. 

Activist organisations are seeking to challenge orders to hand up communications with the Environmental Defenders Office in its failed case against Santos over the $5.6 billion Barossa gas project, arguing there was no legitimate forensic purpose for the material sought. 

Several activist organisations will have to hand up communications with the Environmental Defenders Office over its unsuccessful challenge to the construction of a pipeline for Santos’ $5.6 billion Barossa gas project, as the energy giant mulls third-party costs orders against them. 

The head of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has urged businesses not to put off compliance with mandatory climate disclosures until after legislation has passed, saying while it was too early for the regulator to set out an enforcement plan, it wasn’t too early to be prepared.

The Environmental Defenders Office has lodged a complaint with ASIC on behalf of a member of UniSuper, accusing the Australian superannuation fund of greenwashing its products by mislabelling them as ‘sustainable’. 

Clorox has been taken to court for alleged greenwashing, with the ACCC claiming the consumer goods giant misled customers into believing that a line of its GLAD trash bags were sourced from plastic recycled from the ocean.

A court has given the green light to BHP’s bid to extend a Queensland coal mine over the objections of an environmental lobby group, saying the court’s acceptance of climate change did not mean it would reject all applications for fossil fuel projects.

Businesses that violate environment law could soon face fines of up to $780 million, under a plan that promises tougher enforcement through the creation of an Environment Protection Agency, alongside speedier environment approvals for projects.

Investment and advisory firm Pollination Group has poached a leading climate lawyer who led MinterEllison’s global climate practice group to bolster its offering of cutting edge advice on the transition to net zero.