Media Release – GreenLaw

The ACT’s first comprehensive Practical Guide to Law and Protests Published

Annika Reynolds — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 07:22:21 +0000

ACT’s first comprehensive Practical Guide to Law and Protests Published
12 March 2021

GreenLaw is excited to announce, after a year-long voluntary effort by eight GreenLaw members and a number of ANU academics, that the Practical Guide to Law and Protests in the ACT is now live!

The Practical Guide is a comprehensive resource for organisers and participants of peaceful protests. The Guide is intended to support the public to safely be involved in Australia’s democracy and exercise their rights to peaceful assembly in the ACT.

The Guide is over 100 pages long, packed with practical tips and accessible descriptions of the relevant laws and guides for the organising and running of peaceful protests.

You can see the Guide in our Document Library.

GreenLaw members present at 7th Frontiers Conference 2021

Annika Reynolds — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 07:42:20 +0000

GreenLaw members present at 7th Frontiers Conference 2021
25 February 2021

On Thursday, Annika Reynolds presented to the 7th Frontiers Environmental Law Conference hosted by the University of Adelaide. The presentation was based on research undertaken by Annika, fellow GreenLaw member, Andrew Ray and two ANU academics, Matthew Zagor and Heather Roberts.

The presentation titled, ‘Student-Driven Environmental Law Reform: Assessing Impact, Practical Lessons and Pathways for Development’ is an Australia-first empirical analysis of how submissions are used by governments and the impact students can have on law reform.

The team found that academic submissions, made by students and/or academics, are far more likely to be cited in government inquiries than academic articles – highlighting the importance of being involved directly in law reform efforts.

The team have also developed a framework to more effectively manage student-based submission groups, drawing on the experiences of the ANU Law Reform and Social Justice Research Hub and GreenLaw!

These lessons will be integrated into GreenLaw’s skill development workshops and submission writing sessions over 2021.

GreenLaw recognised in Australian Pro Bono Centre’s 2020 Pro Bono Guide to the Climate Crisis

Annika Reynolds — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 08:09:17 +0000

GreenLaw recognised in Australian Pro Bono Centre’s 2020 Pro Bono Guide to the Climate Crisis
28 August 2020

GreenLaw is excited to announce that we have been recognised as a key civil society organisation tackling climate change by the Australian Pro Bono Centre.

The Centre’s latest guide, which was formally endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, outlines critical avenues legal organisations can take to contribute to climate action.

GreenLaw was discussed as one example of establishing a climate justice clinic in collaboration with a university. The guide outlines how we have made major government submissions and completed a range of law reform projects in partnership with NGOs across Australia.

To read the guide you can visit: https://www.probonocentre.org.au/climate-change-guide/.

Annika Reynolds, Founder of GreenLaw, in interview with The Impact Lawyers

Annika Reynolds — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 09:06:00 +0000

Annika Reynolds, Founder of GreenLaw, in interview with The Impact Lawyers
14 July 2020

Annika Reynolds, GreenLaw’s Founder, had the pleasure of sitting down with Alvaro Navarro Sotillos, Editor in Chief at The Impact Lawyers, to talk about GreenLaw’s journey so far and environmental law reform more broadly.

Annika outlined GreenLaw’s main purpose, to empower the next generation of lawyers to understand the importance of environmental law and the power of legal institutions to further climate justice. They also had a great discussion about GreenLaw’s current projects and recent successes.

Alvaro also asked about broader law reform issues in Australia, including whether the Australian judicial system is aware of climate change. Annika replied: “the judiciary is a powerful way for members of the public to hold government decision-makers accountable and ensure our leaders are acting in the public interest…however, there are limits to the judiciary’s involvement in this space.”

To read the full interview you can visit: https://www.probonocentre.org.au/climate-change-guide/.

GreenLaw research demonstrates that ‘green lawfare’ is not occurring under the EPBC Act

Annika Reynolds — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 08:41:21 +0000

GreenLaw research demonstrates that ‘green lawfare’ is not occurring under the EPBC Act
19 June 2020

GreenLaw’s EPBC Act research team: Nicholas Bulbeck, Sarah Norgrove, Shelby O’Connor and Andrew Ray, led by Annika Reynolds, has had their empirical research published and discussed in the media.

Over the summer of 2019-2020 the team undertook an empirical review of the last decade of public interest litigation under federal environmental legislation – the EPBC Act. The aim was determine if public interest litigants were taking advantage of the courts to push a ‘green’ agenda and stop major developers. The team found that there was no evidence of ‘lawfare’ – the claim that public interest litigants are abusing court processes to stop major projects.

Critically the research highlights that public interest litigants are bringing genuine cases, in fact, when only NGO litigants are assessed, there is a 45% success against The Environment Minister. Moreover, public interest litigants are not taking advantage of court processes or other mechanisms to delay and disrupt projects rebutting arguments made by conservative commentators

This research was recently published in a peer-reviewed journal – the Environment and Planning Law Journal and subject to an extended discussion in The Guardian.

To read The Guardian article you can visit: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/19/claims-major-projects-are-being-delayed-by-environmental-lawfare-dismissed-in-new-research.

GreenLaw recognised in Lawyer’s Weekly for empowering the next generation

Annika Reynolds — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 08:23:10 +0000

GreenLaw recognised in Lawyer’s Weekly for empowering the next generation
15 June 2020

Lawyer’s Weekly have recognised GreenLaw and our work in a recent article, picking up on an interview, our founder, Annika Reynolds, gave at the ANU College of Law.

As said by Annika, “GreenLaw is an opportunity for young people to have a say in the transformative law reform that Australia needs to tackle the climate crisis, and to ensure Australia has a sustainable and equitable future.”

It is fantastic to see our work and message gaining traction, highlighting how significantly GreenLaw can contribute to student empowerment and substantive law reform.

To read the full article you can visit: https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/newlaw/28590-greenlaw-empowers-next-generation-of-young-lawyers.

To read Annika’s interview with the ANU College of Law you can visit: https://law.anu.edu.au/news-and-events/news/anu-student-led-project-advance-climate-justice.

GreenLaw Founder selected to speak at LAWASIA Conference

Annika Reynolds — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 05:34:17 +0000

GreenLaw Founder selected to speak at LAWASIA Conference
24 April 2020

GreenLaw’s founder, Annika Reynolds has been selected to speak at the prestigious LAWASIA International Environmental Law Conference. She is the youngest speaker scheduled for the conference and one of only two speakers that are currently at university or recently graduated. The Conference was originally scheduled for 2020 but has been postponed to 23 – 24 April 2021 due to Covid-19 and travel restrictions.

Annika will be speaking on how to manage youth movements agitating for legal change to address climate change. She will be discussing her experience as the founder of GreenLaw and how to overcome challenges within youth movements, such as legitimacy perceptions and wellbeing.

To attend please visit the LAWASIA Conference website: https://lawasiafiji2020.com/.