The right to bath on the beach

The right to bath on the beach

The right to bath on the beach Australian’s today believe they have a public right to access and use the beach. That includes the right to swim and surf. It has not always been so. Doug Booth, the historian, has written a wonderful account of steps taken to enjoy the...
Coasts and Legal Systems

Coasts and Legal Systems

Coasts and Legal Systems The legal framework for environmental law as articulated by James Thornton in his book ClientEarth, refers to enforcement as the fifth stage. This follows four stages consisting of science leading to policy to law to implementation. This fifth...

Lifecycle of coastal environmental law

Lifecycle of coastal environmental law “Environmental laws have a lifecycle, like any organism. In this body of law, there are five phases”. These are the words of James Thornton from his book with Martin Goodman entitled Client Earth (Scribe, 2017). This is an...
CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION

CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION

CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION Last week I attended three events that I found of interest to my work on coastal policy and science. The first was a workshop on East Coast Lows (ECLs) coordinated by the Office of Environment of Heritage in NSW. This brought together a range...

BATTLES FOR THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

BATTLES FOR THE GREAT BARRIER REEF The Great Barrier Reef (photo source: cairns-greatbarrierreef.org.au) Many have written about the fate of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) past and present.  A consensus is emerging of a bleak future, a future fraught with impacts of...