On 18 July 2023, Jubilee Australia, a human rights and environmental organization, filed a claim in the Federal Court of Australia seeking to compel Federal government agencies that subsidize fossil fuel projects to disclose the full environmental effects of those activities. The claim is against Export Finance Australia (EFA), Australia’s export credit agency, and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), a $7bn AUD fund for infrastructure in northern Australia. Both EFA and NAIF provide taxpayer-subsidized financial support to fossil fuel projects that may not otherwise go ahead. The claim names the Chairs of EFA and NAIF as representatives of their respective Boards, which, in turn, must ensure the reporting requirements are met. The action alleges certain contraventions of s 516A(6) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) that requires government agencies and departments to include the following information in their annual reports:
1. How their activities accord with the principles of ecologically sustainable development – including the precautionary principle and the principle of intergenerational equity;
2. The effect of their activities on the environment;
3. The measures they are taking to minimize the impact of their activities on the environment;
4. The mechanisms for reviewing and increasing the effectiveness of measures to minimize the impact of the activities on the environment.
The definition of activities includes developing and implementing policies, plans, programs, and legislation.
Jubilee Australia alleges that EFA and NAIF failed to adequately disclose the information above in recent annual reports, including failing to disclose the true effect of their financing activities on the environment. On August 9, 2023, the Court made orders setting out a timetable for the respondents to request further and better particulars of the statement of claim. The matter has been listed for a case management hearing on November 3, 2023.
Case Documents:
No case documents are available.