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Case study 5.10: Western Water 2008 case (Vic) (p. 261)

For further cases considering the precautionary principle, see:

 
• Lawyers for Forests v Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts (2009) 165 LGERA 203: the plaintiff argued that the Minister gave the principle mere ‘lip service’, which submission was rejected on the facts;
 
• Re Green and Australian Fisheries Management Authority (2008) 106 ALD 645, where the application of the precautionary principle to refuse a fishing permit was challenged, but upheld;

Re Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc v Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts (2008) 106 ALD 123,  where the AAT held that there was no threat of serious or irreversible environmental damage, hence the precautionary principle did not apply.


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