In Turner v EPA [2012] VCAT 282, the Tribunal has struck out an application on the basis that the applicant lacked standing.
Ms Turner commenced a proceeding seeking to review a works approval granted by the Victorian Environment Protection Authority. The EPA applied to strike out the application on the basis that Ms Turner lacked standing.
In striking out Ms Turner's application the Tribunal found
16. "Ms Kelly-Turner does not have a special interest. What constitutes ‘interests’ may be given a liberal interpretation but this does not mean that just any person may make an application there must be something special about the persons interests that sets them apart from the interests of any member of the general public who may be interested in or concerned about the subject matter.
17.As identified by Justice Osborn in Environment East Gippsland Inc v VicForests, on reviewing the authorities on standing and referring to comments made by Sackville J in North Coast Environment Council Inc v Minister for Resources saying:
[78] Sackville J undertook a survey of the development of the authorities on standing since the ACF Case and indentified a number of principles:
- A plaintiff must demonstrate a ‘special interest’ in the subject matter of the action. A ‘mere intellectual or emotional concern’ for the preservation of the environment is not enough to constitute such an interest. The asserted interest ‘must go beyond that of members of the public in upholding the law ... and must involve more than genuinely held convictions’.
- An allegation of non-compliance with a statutory requirement or an administrative procedure is not enough of itself to confer standing.
- The fact that a person may have commented on environmental aspects of a proposal as part of an environmental assessment process does not of itself confer standing to complain of a decision based on that process."
