In May 2021, the full bench of the Federal Court overturned the landmark win in the case to protect the critically endangered Leadbeater's Possum and vulnerable Greater Glider from logging. The appeal was won on a single ground - that logging has a wide exemption...
VicForests’ appeal hearing has wrapped up! After three days in the Federal Court in Sydney, our legal team are heading home to await the outcome of the appeal. The team arrived at the steps of the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday and were greeted by supporters like...
The case to protect possums from logging has been running for over three years. And after an incredible win for threatened possums, we’re heading back to court on April 12 to defend vital possum habitat once more. In May 2020, Justice Mortimer found that 66 of...
On Thursday 12 March, Senior EJA Lawyer Bruce Lindsay gave evidence at the Parliamentary Inquiry into Ecosystem Decline. The Committee heard from scientists, experts and communities of the deteriorating state of Victoria’s ecosystems. Read Bruce’s opening statement...
Following reforms in 2019, public authorities in Victoria will be subject to important new responsibilities from 1 June 2020, the date the reforms commence. The changes reinforce biodiversity protection as a responsibility that needs to be taken seriously across...
We are thrilled that the Federal Court decided in favour of Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum (FLBP) in the case to protect the threatened Leadbeater’s Possum and Greater Glider from logging. The high canopies and deep hollows in the forests of Victoria’s Central...
It has been a huge few months for our forests and threatened wildlife. On 30 January representing Wildlife of the Central Highlands (WOTCH), we launched a Victorian Supreme Court Case against VicForests to stop logging in areas of unburnt habitat for threatened...
MEDIA RELEASE Today, the Victorian and Commonwealth governments are expected to extend Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) for another 20 years in a move that environmental lawyers say will fail Victoria’s threatened species. Environmental Justice Australia (EJA)...
There have been two significant developments in the last month in relation to nature protection both federally and in Victoria. EPBC Review discussion paper released As we reported in last month’s bulletin, the federal Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, has appointed...
- Emily Giblin, Lawyer, EJA On 7 November 2019, the Victorian government announced several measures to reform, and ultimately phase out, the native timber logging industry in Victoria. Premier Andrews has said the government will end the native timber industry by...
Reforms to Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 passed the Victorian Parliament on 29 August 2019. We have long advocated for reform of our key biodiversity protection law, the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. Back in 2012, we published our report “Where’s...
At 10.30am on Monday 10 December, the trial will commence in the case Fauna and Flora Research Collective Inc v The Secretary to DELWP and VicForests, before Justice Keogh in the Victorian Supreme Court, listed for 5-7 days. In this case the Fauna and Flora Research...
The Victorian Government’s main policy to prevent the extinction of the state’s faunal emblem, the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum, relies on the implausible scenario of 200 years with no bushfires in the possum’s habitat in Victoria’s central highlands....
Pic by Karena Goldfinch Logging in Victoria targets the forests that are most important for biodiversity conservation and the protection of threatened species. The state logging agency VicForests is required to conduct its operations in a way that is consistent with...
What options are available to Victoria's Environment Minister to protect the Greater Glider? Background Greater Glider populations are suffering across Australia. This is especially so in Victoria where populations in the Central Highlands and East Gippsland are in...
The Victorian government is currently consulting on reform to the State’s main law protecting nature – the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (FFG Act). The FFG Act is in need of fundamental reform. There are some proposals in the recently released consultation that could...
Oceania’s busiest port is set to become even busier with the Victorian government granting a new 50-year lease of the Port of Melbourne. For the already threatened Burrunan Dolphin, this is likely to mean increased stress from shipping in the Port Philip Bay area. The...
Bad news for Victoria’s internationally recognised wetlands and how they are managed. Australia has 65 wetlands which are recognised internationally as Ramsar wetlands, meaning the wetland is of international importance and the government has agreed to manage it to...