Environmental Law: Key National Issues
Gain valuable insights into some of the most important environmental issues facing you today. Address the EPBC Act reforms and its implications plus the impacts & opportunities arising from the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020. Explore the important cross over of native title, cultural heritage & environmental protection legislation. Get up to date on climate change litigation and consider bushfire management with a comparative analysis and case update. WEB219N06
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: Dr Bruce Lindsay¸ Lawyer, Environmental Justice Australia
1.00pm to 1.05pm Opening Comments from the Chair
1.05pm to 1.50pm EPBC Act Reforms: The Story So Far and Where to From Here?
- Status and outline of reforms to the EPBC Act
- What are implications of these reforms?
- Where to from here?
Presented by Breellen Warry, Partner, Maddocks; Recommended Planning & Development Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2021; Best Lawyers 2022, Planning and
1.50pm to 2.35pm Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020: Implications and Opportunities
- Implementation of the export ban on certain waste streams
- Reforms to product stewardship regulation
- Opportunities for the resource recovery industry
Presented by Claire Smith, Partner, Clayton Utz
2.35pm to 3.20pm Native Title & Cultural Heritage Update: National Impacts on Cultural Heritage after Juukan Gorge
The destruction of the 46,000-year-old caves at Juukan Gorge led to a Parliamentary Inquiry that will produce its final report by late 2021. This has brought into focus the intense discussions and consultations across Australia on the protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Cover off on recent legislative reviews at a Commonwealth and State level including:
- 2020 Independent Review of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) by Professor Graeme Samuel AC
- 2020 Productivity Commission study of resource sector regulation
- Western Australia’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2020 which aims to remedy notorious flaws in the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972
- South Australia’s 2019 amendments to the Mining Act 1971
- Victoria’s proposed changes to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006
- Queensland’s proposals arising from the 2019 review of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2003 and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003
- Tasmania’s recommendations from the 2019 review of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975
- NSW’s draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2018, which would be the State’s first law specifically targeted at Indigenous cultural heritage
Ahead of the final report of the Juukan Gorge Inquiry, identify some lessons learnt for Indigenous people and proponents.
Presented by Tina Jowett, Barrister, Sixth Floor Windeyer Chambers
3.20pm to 3.35pm Break
3.35pm to 4.20pm The Development of Climate Change Litigation: From Traditional to New Generation
- Climate change: from environmental to financial risk
- First, second and third (new) generation climate change litigation
- What’s next?
Presented by Anna Gudkov, Senior Lawyer, Safe Climate (Corporate and Gas) Team, Environmental Defenders Office
4.20pm to 5.05pm Bushfire Management: Comparative Law and Recent Case Update
- Legislating for bushfire management vs policy-based approaches
- Negligence and bushfire management: Should private landowners be responsible and/or liable for preventing bushfires?
- Integrating traditional Indigenous fire management
- Climate change litigation and bushfire management
- Opportunities for bushfire management reform
Presented by Alyce Kliese, Senior Solicitor, Shaw Reynolds Lawyers; Member, Planning Committee & Chair, Policy Implementation Committee, Property Council of Australia; Member, Planning Committee, Urban Development Institute of Australia
5.05pm to 5.15pm Final Q&A and Closing Comments
Presenters
Dr Bruce Lindsay
Dr Bruce Lindsay is a senior lawyer and leads the ecosystems programs at Environmental Justice Australia, a public interest environmental law practice based in Melbourne. He has worked in areas including planning, environmental, water and administrative law since 2013, in law reform, community legal education and litigation. The nature of EJA’s work means that Bruce typically works closely with community organisations and NGOs. Alongside EJA work Bruce contributed to the law and policy component of the National Cultural Flows Research Project (2017-2018) and on ‘reframing net gain’ concepts for the Birrarung Council. He has taught Environmental Law at the Australian Catholic University. Bruce has a PhD from the ANU College of Law and a Masters in Environmental Science from Monash University.
Breellen Warry
Breellen Warry is a Partner within the Public Law team at Maddocks. Breellen advises both private and public sector clients across various industries on a wide range of planning, environment and government matters. Breellen also has extensive experience advising NSW State government and local councils on planning and environmental law and has worked both within and for government agencies in NSW and in the UK. Breellen has also lectured at Western Sydney University, teaching planning and environmental law and has authored Thomson Reuters' Planning and Development Law Service. Breellen has been recognised in the Doyle's Guide as a Leading Planning & Development Lawyer – New South Wales since 2020 and in the 2021 and 2022 Editions of Best Lawyers for Planning and Environmental Law.
Claire Smith
Claire Smith is a partner at Clayton Utz specialising in environment, planning and climate change law who has previously worked as an environmental consultant and global environment counsel for BP plc. She has a mix of private sector and public sector clients and has acted on a number of complex and high profile projects in NSW including the Barangaroo Carbon Neutral Precinct development. She was named Partner of the Year Native Title, Environment and Planning Law by Lawyers Weekly in 2020 and is also listed as a key lawyer in Legal 500 and a leading environment and climate change lawyer in Doyle's Guide.
Tina Jowett
Tina Jowett has been a barrister for 16 years. Whilst studying Law she worked at the Indigenous Law Centre at UNSW with Prof Garth Nettheim. Tina was a member of the NSW Equal Opportunity Tribunal from 1993-2003. In 1995/96 Tina was the Associate to Justice Jane Mathews during the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Inquiry. Tina regularly teaches native title law for the Aurora Project to both researchers and lawyers, presents at native title conferences to both anthropologists and lawyers, has published papers on native title, presents papers on practice and procedure for the NSW Bar Association’s continuing professional development programme and is on the editorial panel of LexisNexis Native Title News.
Anna Gudkov
Anna Gudkov is a Senior Solicitor in the Corporate and Gas team at the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO). Her focus is on keeping corporations, gas companies and financiers of fossil fuel projects accountable for their climate change impact, with a focus on climate change disclosure, greenwashing and director’s duties. Prior to working for the EDO, Anna spent over 5 years in insurance litigation, including working at top insurance specialist firms and a global top tier firm. In 2017 Anna was named as a finalist in the insurance category of the ’30 under 30’ awards.
Alyce Kliese
With her engineering background and experience as a Solicitor, Alyce brings a valuable perspective to the administrative, local government, planning and environmental law sectors. In her previous roles as a civil engineer, Alyce was responsible for assessing and determining Development Applications, Construction Certificates, Subdivision Certificates, Strata Certificates and Roads Act consents. During this time she also acted as a principal certifier for large-scale civil and infrastructure projects. Alyce has subsequently pursued a life in law. Alyce is a member of the Planning Committee for the Property Council of Australia and is the Chair of the Policy Implementation Committee. She is also a member of the Planning Committee for the Urban Development Institute of Australia.