On 20 May 2011, the Land and Environment Court gave its
decisionin Capital Airport Group Pty Ltd v Director-General of
the NSW Department of Planning (No 2) [2011] NSWLEC
83.
The Court examined whether Council's decision to submit a
draft Local Environment Plan to the Director- General of the
Department of Planning and Infrastructure was infected with
apprehended bias. This required the Court to consider whether
apprehended bias in the nature of prejudgment (as opposed to bias
based on interest) had tainted the Council's decision.
Facts
Capital Airport Group Pty Ltd (Applicant) challenged the
validity of two decisions made at intermediate stages of the
process for making the draft Local Environment Plan (LEP) for South
Tralee, NSW. The draft LEP provides for the rezoning of South
Tralee for residential and other purposes. The Applicant is
associated with the nearby Canberra Airport and has for many years
opposed the rezoning of South Tralee.
