 History
The Western Australian EDO is part of a national
network of EDOs servicing each Australian State and Territory. Australia's
first EDO was established in New South Wales in 1986. In the
early 1990s EDOs were established in Victoria and Queensland.
A group of concerned lawyers joined forces with the Conservation
Council of Western Australia Inc to
form the Western Australian EDO in late 1995. Funding was obtained
from the
Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department,
and the EDO commenced full time operation in March 1996. The first
employees of the
EDO were a full-time solicitor (Michael Bennett) and part-time
Coordinator (Margaret Robertson). The first Convenor of the EDO
was Justice Michael Barker, President of the State Administrative Tribunal
of Western Australia.
Like EDOs
in other States, the Western Australian EDO operates independently
from government.
For more information on our activities, view our Annual
Reports or browse our
newsletters.
With the help of our members, donors and volunteers, the EDO has
been able to argue a number of important environmental issues
before the courts. Here are just some of the highlights of cases
the EDO has
been involved with:
1997 – Community objections to
mining activities permitted
1997 – CALM not bound by fauna
protection laws or forest management plans
1998 – Environmental objections
can be made to mining activities
1998 – Forest protester conviction
overturned
1999 – Brickworks banned
2001 – Minister for Mines wrong
in not referring mining proposal to EPA
2001 – Documents on land clearing
released under Freedom on Information
2002 – Unlawful coastal
subdivision
 Staff
Josie Walker (Principal Solicitor)
Josie started work as the Principal solicitor of EDOWA in January 2009. Her previous experience includes working as a litigation solicitor at the Environmental Defender’s Office of NSW and a tipstaff (judge’s research assistant) at the NSW Land and Environment Court.
Josie’s special interests include protection of biodiversity and promoting the principles of ecologically sustainable development in environmental decision-making. In 2007 Josie was involved in the landmark case on ecologically sustainable development and climate change, Walker v the Minister for Planning.
Jessica Smith (Outreach Solicitor)
Jessica Smith started work as the Outreach Solicitor at EDO WA in February 2010. Prior to this, Jessica worked as a lawyer at Clayton Utz for three years, specialising in environmental and planning law, and energy and resources law. Jessica is a co-editor and chapter author of Climate Change Law and Policy in Australia, an online LexisNexis publication. Jessica recently co-authored a paper entitled "Developing a Regulatory Regime for Carbon Geosequestration in Australia", which was presented at the 2008 National Environmental Law Association Conference and published by Thomson Reuters in Climate Change Law: Comparative, Contractual and Regulatory Considerations.
Claudia Maw (Office Coordinator)
Claudia joined the EDO as a volunteer in December 2009, after completing an overseas practitioners' course at the University of Notre Dame Australia. She is currently studying at the College of Law, and works as the EDO's coordinator two days per week.
 EDO
rules
The rules for the Environmental Defender's Office WA (Inc) incorporating
all amendments made up to and including 14/10/2003 is provided
here as an Acrobat document.
EDO Management
Committee
The EDO is an incorporated association. Its affairs are overseen
by a Management Committee which is elected annually by EDO
members.
The current Management Committee includes conservationists,
community representatives and practising lawyers.
The current Convenor is Dr Hannes Schoombee.
The current Deputy Convenor is Ms Sharon Mascher.
|