A legal decision by the full bench of the Federal Court has
determined that the Australian Government has no duty of care to
protect us, or our children, from climate harm.
Three Federal Court judges have unanimously reversed a previous
court finding, after an appeal by the Environment Minister Sussan
Ley.
Long-running
legal battle
The original decision in a case taken to court by eight children
in the year 2020, who were seeking to block the expansion of
Whitehaven Coal's Vickery Coal mine in Northern New South
Wales. The mine is expected to produce an additional 100 million
tonnes of carbon emissions, equating to as much as 20% of
Australia's carbon footprint.
The Federal Court decision denied the children's bid to stop
the expansion, but it did rule that as Environment Minister, Ms Ley
has a duty of reasonable care to not cause the children personal
injury when exercising her legislative decision-making powers
regarding the mine.
