Eco-Justice and Destructive Mining in Australia: Lessons from the New South Wales Land and Environmental Court

Abstract

This chapter provides discussion of how the New South Wales Land and Environment Court (NSWLEC) acted in several important legal cases in Australia involving mining companies. It begins by mapping out aspects of eco-justice (comprised of environmental, ecological, and species justice considerations) and ecocentrism as a philosophical perspective based on the intrinsic worth and value of nature. The chapter then describes the approach of the NSWLEC to matters of ecology and ecological integrity, acknowledgment of the interests and voices of Indigenous people, and the significance of climate change in contemporary assessments of potential environmental impact. The chapter demonstrates how laws and courts are sites of contestation where, occasionally, mining companies can be taken to task and held accountable for their actions—past, present, and future.