Australia
Anvil Hill Project Watch Association v. Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Federal Court of Australia, 2008)
Jurisdiction: Australia
Side A: Anvil Hill Project Watch Association (Ngo)
Side B: Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Government)
Core objectives:
Challenge to government approval of an of an open coal mine
Summary
Under section 75(1) of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the Commonwealth Minister is to assess if a proposed action is a "controlled action." The Anvil Hill Project Watch Association challenged the decision by the Minister that the proposed construction of an open coal mine was not a "controlled action." The court ruled that section 75(1) did not require an objective factual determination by the Minister of whether an action is considered a "controlled action" or not.