Company type | Non-Governmental Organisation |
---|---|
Industry | Environmental law |
Founded | 1989 |
Headquarters | Queensland |
Products | Legal representation, advice, submissions on policy formulation, submissions on legislation, and education designed to facilitate public participation in environmental decision making |
Website | www.edo.org.au/ |
The Environmental Defenders Office (Qld) Inc. (EDO Qld) was a non-profit, non-government Community Legal Centre which was established in 1989. and is one of nine independent Environmental Defenders Offices located across Australia which collaborated in a loose network known as the EDOs of Australia.
In 2019 EDO Qld merged with other EDOs around the country to form a new national organisation Environmental Defenders Office (EDO Ltd).
The EDO's lawyers provide access to justice for the Queensland community by offering legal advice and education and engaging in policy and law reform. The work done by community legal centres specialising in public interest environmental law such as EDO Qld has been acknowledged. In a 2012 report into access to justice, the Commonwealth Productivity Commission concluded that "there are strong grounds for the legal assistance sector to receive funding to undertake strategic advocacy, law reform and public interest litigation including in relation to environmental matters" given the important contribution the EDOs make to not only strengthening community rights but also the efficiency and effectiveness of Australia's environmental protection laws. [1] This sentiment has been echoed members of the legal profession, including most notably the Honourable Judge Brian Preston, Chief Judge of the Planning and Environment Court of New South Wales, [2] as well as Adrian Finanzio SC. [3]
The 'priority areas' for the work of EDO Qld includes; climate change, environmental planning and development, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management (particularly mining and coal seam gas) and environmental justice.
The EDO helps people understand their legal rights and explains how to exercise them in relation to environmental issues that affect the broader community. They also run Court actions where there are serious questions of potential environmental harm.
While Queensland has no legal aid for public interest environmental law, EDO Qld, with the pro bono assistance of members of the Queensland bar and private donations, has managed a number of cases in Queensland. These include:
The EDO helps build the community's legal skills and knowledge, empowering them to facilitate public participation in environmental decision making. The organisation also runs workshops, [14] and produce plain-English fact sheets, [15] handbooks, [16] and bulletins. [17]
Policy and law reform is an important part of the EDO's work. [18] While the EDO does not campaign on particular environmental issues, the EDO frequently puts forward proposals suggesting ways that the law can be improved.
Conservation in Australia is an issue of state and federal policy. Australia is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, with a large portion of species endemic to Australia. Preserving this wealth of biodiversity is important for future generations. 25% of Australia is managed for conservation.
The Mooloolah River National Park is a nationally protected area located on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. It covers an area of 830.9 hectares and is bordered by the Mooloolah River to the east, Claymore and Dixon Roads to the west, and the Lower Mooloolah River Environmental Reserve to the south. It is bisected by the Sunshine Motorway with the northern, 161.93 hectare component of the Park being a later addition. The Park was initially vacant crown land prior to national park designation in 1960. Surrounding land uses include livestock grazing, urban development and the campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast. It is the second largest mainland park on the coastal lowlands in South East Queensland after Noosa National Park and represents an example of low-lying coastal floodplain distinctive of the region.
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, groups and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where it is possible, to repair damage and reverse trends.
The Fitzroy River is a river in Central Queensland, Australia. Its catchment covers an area of 142,665 square kilometres (55,083 sq mi), making it the largest river catchment flowing to the eastern coast of Australia. It is also the largest river basin that discharges onto the Great Barrier Reef.
The Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.
The Wilderness Society is an Australian, community-based, not-for-profit non-governmental environmental advocacy organisation.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability.
Commonwealth v Tasmania was a significant Australian court case, decided in the High Court of Australia on 1 July 1983. The case was a landmark decision in Australian constitutional law, and was a significant moment in the history of conservation in Australia. The case centred on the proposed construction of a hydro-electric dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, which was supported by the Tasmanian government, but opposed by the Australian federal government and environmental groups.
Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental impact assessment" is usually used when applied to actual projects by individuals or companies and the term "strategic environmental assessment" (SEA) applies to policies, plans and programmes most often proposed by organs of state. It is a tool of environmental management forming a part of project approval and decision-making. Environmental assessments may be governed by rules of administrative procedure regarding public participation and documentation of decision making, and may be subject to judicial review.
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places. Enacted on 17 July 2000, it established a range of processes to help protect and promote the recovery of threatened species and ecological communities, and preserve significant places from decline. The Act is as of June 2020 administered by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Lists of threatened species are drawn up under the Act, and these lists, the primary reference to threatened species in Australia, are available online through the Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT).
The Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) or Queensland Conservation is a non-governmental organisation that represents all the major conservation organisations of Queensland state in Australia. The organisation have been working to protect, conserve and sustain Queensland’s unique natural environment since 1969. The organisation's office is currently located in West End, Brisbane.
The Wielangta forest is in south-east Tasmania, Australia. It is notable for its role in a 2006 court case that called into question the effectiveness of Australia's cooperative Commonwealth-State forest management regime known as Regional Forest Agreements.
Coal is mined in every state of Australia. The largest black coal resources occur in Queensland and New South Wales. About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia, and of the balance most is used in electricity generation. In 2019-20 Australia exported 390 Mt of coal and was the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal and second largest exporter of thermal coal. While only employing 50,000 mining jobs nationally coal provides a rich revenue stream for governments.
Land clearing in Australia describes the removal of native vegetation and deforestation in Australia. Land clearing involves the removal of native vegetation and habitats, including the bulldozing of native bushlands, forests, savannah, woodlands and native grasslands and the draining of natural wetlands for replacement with agriculture, urban and other land uses.
Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is an Australian NGO that encourages, funds, and provides lawyers and legal support for litigation, law reform, and community engagement on climate change and environmental issues. EDO formed in late 2019 with the merger of eight separate state and territory organisations into one national organisation. Topics of interest to EDO include: climate change, biodiversity, water, and healthy communities.
The Environmental Defender's Office (NSW) in Sydney, New South Wales, was one of nine EDO offices located across Australia, formerly known as the Australian Network of EDOs (ANEDO).
The Carmichael coal mine is a coal mine in Queensland, Australia which produced its first shipment of coal in December 2021.
Michael Craig Berkman is an Australian politician and the member for Maiwar in Brisbane's inner-west. Berkman has been the member for Maiwar since the 2017 Queensland state elections, when he became the first Greens member to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. He is the first member for Maiwar, after the electorate was created from the merger of the former Indooroopilly and Mt Coot-tha electorates.
The Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) was enacted by the Parliament of New South Wales in 1995 to protect threatened species, populations and ecological communities in NSW. In 2016 it was replaced by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. These acts form the basis and the mechanisms in NSW by which species, populations and ecological communities are declared endangered, vulnerable or critically endangered, and under which people and corporations are prosecuted for destruction of habitat sheltering such species, populations or communities.
The Blue Mountains Conservation Society is an incorporated non-governmental organisation working to protect, conserve, and advocate for the natural environment of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area in New South Wales, Australia. Its work includes the listing and protection of threatened species, populations and ecological communities of the Greater Blue Mountains and campaigns regarding climate change.