Friends of Leadbeater's Possum Inc v VicForests (No 6)

Friends of Leadbeater's Possum Inc initiated proceedings against VicForests in the Federal Court, alleging contraventions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The applicant sought a prohibitory injunction to prevent forestry operations in specific coupes, and mitigation orders to require VicForests to permanently set aside certain coupes from forestry operations. The court was required to decide whether a public interest injunction should issue to prohibit forestry operations in the logged coupes and whether mitigation orders in the form of mandatory injunctions should be made. The court found that there were circumstances which called for the Court to mark its disapproval of VicForests’ conduct in the past in the Logged Coupes through the grant of an injunction, to make clear that those contraventions should not have occurred. The Court held that it was appropriate to permit such activities to occur, in compliance with the Code, and except for burning. The Court held that the term “forestry operations” was appropriate to reflect the centrality of that term in the relief granted by the Court. The Court made injunctions over both the Scheduled Coupes and the Logged Coupes and made tailored “carve outs” for each injunction. The Court made declarations and orders in relation to the contraventions of the Act and the Code, and made orders in relation to costs and discharge of interlocutory injunctions. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs of the separate question hearing, and the respondent was ordered to pay the applicant’s costs of the proceeding, other than the costs of the separate question hearing, to be fixed by way of lump sum.