This independent report, commissioned by Lock the Gate, was launched on the 16th April 2024. It builds on Samuel Review recommendations that communities should have the legal right to challenge the merits of a wider range of environmental decisions.
Read and download the report here
While commonplace in most other areas of law, these “merits review rights” currently only apply to an extremely limited number of situations in federal environmental law, leaving the Australian public with few avenues to challenge decisions that impact the plants, animals, and natural areas that belong to us all.
The report finds that should merits review rights be expanded to include large projects, like coal mines for example, it would not only improve the public’s trust in decision making, but improve the integrity and quality of the decisions themselves. It includes a supporting foreword from renowned former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia Robert French.