Final submissions are to be heard today and tomorrow in the federal court environmental case against developers of a controversial Byron Shire housing estate.
Campaigners against Clarence Property’s approved Wallum Estate at Bayside, Brunswick Heads, have led a high-profile local and social media movement under the Save Wallum Inc. banner and in February their legal case in the federal court started.
Save Wallum campaigners say they have a pro bono legal team acting on their behalf, led by barristers Jonathan Korman and Richard Renyolds and lawyer Natalija Nikolvic.
Five native species have featured in the case, owing to claims they are further threatened by the planned building works, with expert ecologists on both sides having taken to the stand to testify their informed opinions on potential impacts.
Rare frog and snail find fame in federal court
The, until now, little-known Wallum sedge frog has had its day in the legal limelight, alongside the Mitchell’s rainforest snail, which some Byron locals may recall as having habitat destroyed to make way for the Byron bypass in recent years.
The long-nosed potoroo, south-eastern glossy black cockatoo and perennial favourite yet scientifically at risk of extinction on the east coast, koala, have also demanded attention in the case.
Save Wallum spokesperson Svea Pitman says there is such a small amount of suitable ecology in the local area left for the five species that it is vital it’s conserved.
Save Wallum Inc’s legal team recently celebrated the court’s decision to allow one of their star experts, David Millege, to share his expert evidence.
You Tube to livestream landmark court decision
The case has already included three weeks of hearings but final submissions are to be delivered today, Monday 26th and tomorrow, Tuesday 27th May.
The hearings are to be live-streamed on the federal court’s official You Tube channel owing to public interest in the matter, as with previous hearings.
Campaigners say the court’s decision will be a defining moment not only for Brunswick Heads but for environmental protection across Australia.
A media release on Monday said the outcome would showcase whether laws like the EPBC Act can ‘truly safeguard biodiversity, or whether developers can sidestep them using outdated approvals and bureaucratic loopholes like being a Zombie DA’.
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