Legal Buzz

Tune into this exciting lecture about climate litigation by Justice Brian J Preston, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.

Sign up below!

Recent Trends in Climate Litigation and Human Rights Join this year's Castan Centre for Human Rights Law and King & Wood Mallesons Annual Lecture by The Honourable Justice Preston.

Our panel event last Thursday was a huge success with our panelists providing great insight into environmental law careers. Thank you for attending and together with Lawcate, we have donated $200 to Environmental Justice Australia!

Thank you to everyone who attended our event with .buzz last night!! It was great seeing all your faces and we hope everyone who attended gained some insight and valuable knowledge.

Make sure to keep in touch with us for more events in the future!

Quick reminder that summer internships with Environmental Justice Australia close tomorrow at 5pm!

Check out the website for more details:

Volunteer with us Intern from home with EJA

There's still time to register for Lawcate x Legal Buzz Present: From E-Studies to Environmental Law on 9 September to explore the different pathways into environmental law.

In this exciting collaboration with Lawcate, we will also be donating $50 to Environmental Justice Australia for every ten people who join us on the night!

Register here: https://forms.gle/NLECVVvB8z78LpJv9

Join us on 9 September for our panel event: Lawcate x Legal Buzz Present: From E-Studies to Environmental Law.

Click onto Lawcate's page to read more about our four speakers: Meg Lee, Jeremy Cheong, Dr Chris McGrath, and Dr Cristelle Maurin.

🌿REGISTRATION LINK🌿
Register through our Google Form and we'll send the Zoom link on the day: https://forms.gle/NLECVVvB8z78LpJv9

How can lawyers implement a climate conscious approach into their daily practice? Listen in as Justice Preston, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, discusses this topic on 25 August.

Sign up here: https://events.unimelb.edu.au/event/11212-climate-conscious-lawyering?fbclid=IwAR3eWGFA9-x50dZbSobwwYU5KlmkreqIJEoQ76OBS9H9aJTItaSZ3g1-nEgclimate

Free public lecture: Climate-conscious lawyering Wed 25 Aug, 6pm - 7pm, online.

Happy Tree Planting Day 🌳 🌳

Today is National Tree Day 🌱, and we are very pleased to acknowledge a day that is all about heading outdoors into nature, getting your hands in the earth and giving back to community. "Trees are a gift to our planet and ourselves. They support life on earth and provide humans with the air we breathe. The livelihood of our world and its inhabitants depends on the health of our trees and forests and there are a number of reasons we should plant trees."
Taken from National Tree Day - https://treeday.planetark.org

A fantastic opportunity for Monash Students to learn about decision-making on climate change at a global scale! Through this immersive program, you will connect with students and global experts to experience what it’s like to be a delegate at the 2021 UN Climate Change Negotiations.

Applications close 9 June 2021.

Click here for more information: www.monash.edu/msdi/apru

Are you a Monash undergrad or postgrad student or PhD candidate? Experience what it’s like to be a delegate at the 2021 UN Climate Change negotiations in the inaugural APRU-Monash Global Climate Change Simulation.

*Get globally connected with students from across the Asia *Pacific and the Americas
*Participate in an online role-play simulation
*Learn the latest on climate change from global experts

Scholarship positions available. No previous knowledge of climate change is required. To ensure equity, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Pacific Island applicants will be prioritised. Applications close 9 June 2021.
www.monash.edu/msdi/apru

Today, the full bench of the Federal Court overturned Friends of Leadbeater's Possum Inc. landmark win in the Possums Case on one ground, on the basis that logging has a wide exemption from federal environment law even when conducted in habitat critical to the survival of wildlife facing a high risk of extinction, and in breach of state law.

The Full Court dismissed all other 21 grounds of appeal, including those seeking to overturn factual findings in the original decision. Key findings that stand in the original 444 page-judgment include that logging is permanently destroying habitat critical to the survival of the Leadbeater’s Possum and Greater Glider, is a cause of the decline of important populations necessary for their long-term survival, and that current reserves are inadequate to protect the species from their high risk of extinction.

The original judgment also found that logging in the 66 areas subject to the case was in breach of Victorian environment law, and in just 17 of the areas investigated, up to 600 Greater Gliders may have been impacted and killed by the state’s logging agency. All appeal grounds relating to those findings were dismissed.

Despite these findings, the Court decided those logging operations are still exempt from the federal environment laws designed to protect those very species.

Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum are applying to keep injunctions in place while they appeal to the High Court, to ensure protections stay in place for the 66 areas subject of the case home to the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum and vulnerable Greater Glider.

Logging continues daily in Victoria at sites where Greater Gliders are recorded and in known Leadbeater’s Possum habitat. Many of those logging operations may be unlawful under state law, even if they are exempt from federal law.

Steve Meacher, President of Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum said:

“Logging in native forests is killing threatened species and destroying their critical habitat. Against this background, this morning’s judgment is very disappointing.

“This battle is not yet over. We are actively looking to appeal to the High Court.

We’ll be working with our client, Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum to appeal to the High Court and apply to keep injunctions in place protecting the critical areas of habitat subject of the case.

Today’s the day! We’re outside the Federal Court in Sydney ahead of Friends of Leadbeater's Possum Inc. three-day hearing, following VicForests’ appeal of the decision to protect possum habitat from native logging.

You can livestream the appeal here from 10:30am AEST > https://bit.ly/327Rdmi

Our lawyers have been working around the clock with the rest of the team to put the best legal case forward to uphold the court’s decision and protect possums from habitat logging for good. Donate to the case here > https://chuffed.org/project/protect-our-possums

Wish us luck!

Are you interested in learning more about the current laws regarding environmental issues and climate change?

Sign up below to the Monash Law Students' Society Environmental Law webinar! This panel event includes guests from Environmental Justice Australia, Guthrie Legal, and Rupert Watters, an environmental law barrister.

📅Date: Tuesday 30th March
⌚Time: 5 - 6pm
📍Location: Zoom
https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSe501MBB52.../viewform...