WATTLEUP ROAD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PTY LTD and WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PLANNING COMMISSION

The matter before the court involved Wattleup Road Development Company Pty Ltd as the applicant and the Western Australian Planning Commission as the respondent. The applicant sought to develop a parcel of land in Cockburn, which required approval from the Planning Commission. Alcoa of Australia Limited and the Kwinana Industries Council (Inc) both sought to intervene in the proceedings. Alcoa's intervention was aimed at addressing the health and amenity impacts of dust arising from the proposed subdivisions, while the Kwinana Industries Council sought to intervene on broader environmental grounds.

The court had to determine whether Alcoa and the Kwinana Industries Council had a sufficient interest in the matter to warrant intervention. Additionally, the court had to consider whether intervention was necessary for the Tribunal to meet its objectives and whether an intervener could be allowed to expand the issues beyond those directly between the applicant and the respondent. The court noted that the circumstances of the case were unusual and, in combination, exceptional, given the previous refusal of the subdivision application by the Tribunal on the application of the 'precautionary principle' and the 'call in' of the application by the Minister for Planning.

In granting Alcoa leave to intervene, the court found that the circumstances were exceptional and that intervention was necessary to enable the Tribunal to meet its objectives. The court concluded that the proposed subdivisions' health and amenity impacts of dust warranted Alcoa's involvement. In contrast, the court dismissed the application by the Kwinana Industries Council for leave to intervene or to make submissions, finding that their concerns did not meet the threshold for intervention in this particular case.