Tribunal Considers Climate Change A Relevant Consideration

In one of the first decisions of its kind in Australia, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has refused the development of six coastal dwellings partly due to the threat of increasing storm severity and rising seas levels from climate change. The decision in Gippsland Coastal Board v South Gippsland SC & Ors (No 2) [2008] VCAT 1545 was handed down by Deputy President Helen Gibson and Member Ian Potts on 29 July 2008.

Background

DLA Phillips Fox acted on behalf of the Gippsland Coastal Board, who made an application under section 82 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) (P&A Act). The application concerned a review of the decision by the South Gippsland Shire Council to grant planning permits for six separate dwellings on separate Crown allotments in a Farming Zone, close to the coast about 197 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. The land is low-lying, prone to high water