The Federal Court unanimously sided with Ms Ley in her appeal to reverse the previous decision in which Justice Mordecai Bromberg agreed that the duty of care existed.
The class-action lawsuit was filed by a group of teenage activists in 2020 seeking to halt the approval for an expansion of Whitehaven Coal’s Vickery mine in regional NSW and stated that the environment minister had a duty of care to protect young Australians when assessing new fossil fuel projects.
Highlights:
- A group of eight teenagers had filed a lawsuit against Environment Minister Sussan Ley
- In the initial judgement, the court held that the minister had a "duty of care" when assessing fossil fuel projects
- The full bench of the Federal Court on Tuesday unanimously ruled to overturn the earlier decision
Last May, when the case was brought before the Federal Court, Justice Bromberg agreed that Ms Ley had a duty of care, but an application to prevent the mine expansion approval plan was dismissed.
Following an appeal lodged by Ms Ley to reverse the initial decision, Chief Justice James Allsop said all three judges agreed a legal duty of care should not be imposed but differed in their reasons.
Reacting to the latest judgement, Ms Sharma said, "I believe that Australia is at a crossroads right now where we can really make a difference for future generations by choosing a safe, clean climate future, powered by renewables, to go forward, or continue to rely on fossil fuel projects that could severely endanger our future and those who are most vulnerable."
She told SBS Hindi, "I am really, really angry but definitely not helpless."
India-born Ms Sharma has been spearheading the climate change protest and making headlines with her legal battle against the environment minister.
Anjali Sharma is hugged by Luca Saunders, 16, Ava Princi outside the NSW Federal Court in Sydney, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Source: AAP Image/Dean Lewins
"Even though we were knocked back by the court, it doesn't mean that the fight for climate justice stops," she said.
The case, Sharma and Others v Minister for the Environment, was managed by Equity Generation Lawyers and supported by an 86-year-old nun, Sister Brigid Arthur, who was Ms Sharma's litigation guardian. The case had sought an injunction from the Federal Court to block the expansion of the mine.
The claimants contended that the environment minister had a duty of care to avoid causing injury to young people while exercising her powers to approve a new coal project.
The group argued that the million-dollar project near Gunnedah will extract an estimated 33 million tonnes of coal over a period of 25 years and release around 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Australian Environment Minister Sussan Ley (R) speaking at Parliament House in Canberra. Source: AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Other teenagers in the litigation include Ava Princi, Izzy Raj-Seppings, Laura Kirwin, Ambrose Hayes, Tomas Webster Arbizu, Bella Burgemeiste and Luca Saunders.
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