George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Singh: no. If Mr Jones said that—I have not seen his remarks—that is not correct at all. Let me, if I may, Senator Singh, explain what the government intends to do. Section 487 of the EPBC Act creates an exception to the ordinary law. The ordinary common-law rule is that a person is entitled to commence proceedings, including proceedings for administrative review of a decision maker's decision, if that person is affected by the decision. That is the law. That has been the law since time immemorial. Anyone who is affected has a right of standing before a court or an administrative review tribunal. Section 487 of the EPBC Act created an exception to that traditional common-law principle by giving standing to apply for review of administrative decisions made under that particular act to anybody who was an Australian citizen or a person ordinarily resident in Australia who, at any time within the previous two years, had any involvement whatsoever in any activity relating to conservation or research into conservation.

Senator Singh, unfortunately, that provision—inserted, I might say, by the Howard government in order to give genuine environmentalists an additional forensic benefit in the review of disputed environmental decisions—has been availed of in recent years by vigilante litigants who are quite blatant, quite shameless, in their declaration that they intend to use that enhanced statutory standing for the purpose of economic destruction, and we will not allow that to occur. (Time expired)