Court invalidates Sussan Ley decision Tasmania’s Tarkine forest

Chinese-owned miner MMG cannot commence work on mine expansion in Tasmania’s Tarkine forest, the Federal Court has ruled.

Bob Brown hailed the decision as ‘huge’, saying it has repercussions across the country. Picture: Chris Kidd

Chinese-owned miner MMG cannot commence work on mine expansion in Tasmania’s takayna/Tarkine forest due to insufficient consideration of its environmental impacts by then environment minister Sussan Ley, the Federal Court has ruled.

Former Greens leader Bob Brown, whose foundation brought the lawsuit, hailed the decision as “huge” on Monday, saying it had repercussions across the country.

Ms Ley’s decision would have opened the door for MMG to construct a tailings dam to store heavy metals in the ancient forest in Tasmania’s northwest.

Sussan Ley. Picture Matt Turner.

Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky found Ms Ley, under her powers within the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, overlooked the impact of the loss of forest on threatened species – in particular, the threatened Tasmanian masked owl.

The Bob Brown Foundation welcomed the decision.

“This decision tells miners, loggers and other big project proponents that they can no longer profit from the uncertainty that follows a lack of quality scientific investigation,” said campaign manager Jenny Weber.

The foundation said the decision was “one of the most significant decisions in environmental law made since the EPBC Act’s inception in 1999”.

The application must now be reconsidered by new Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, whom Mr Brown said was handed a “remarkable opportunity … to right the terrible wrong of Sussan Ley’s failure”.

“The nation’s environmentalists will be counting on her to apply the law and protect this ancient rainforest and all of its threatened wildlife, trees and ecological communities,” Mr Brown added.

The decision hinged on the precautionary principle, which the EPBC Act requires the environment minister to consider in decisions of this nature.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Picture: Gary Ramage

The precautionary principle states that where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to postpone a measure to prevent environmental degradation.

Mr Brown lashed Ms Ley for failing to consider those environmental impacts.

“She overlooked the impact of the loss of forest on the threatened Tasmanian masked owl altogether,” he said. “Her delegate did not bring the ‘active intellectual process’ required in applying the precautionary principle.”

“The minister, totally responsible for the delegate’s decision, failed in her obligation.”

He also called on the federal government to compensate nearly 100 protesters who were arrested in relation to MMG’s mine expansion.

“They are the environmental citizen heroes who stood firm when the minister and government failed them and the law,” he said.

Ms Ley’s office said it was “a matter for the current government” when reached for comment.