‘Lawyers should be running to courts’ to stop coal approvals after landmark ruling, NSW MP says

Key points

• Australia’s highest court has ruled that the approval of a coalmine expansion in NSW was invalid, setting a precedent for fossil fuel projects.
• The court found the state’s Independent Planning Commission failed to consider imposing conditions to minimise greenhouse gas emissions generated by the mine when the coal is sold and burnt overseas.
• NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson said the judgment could lead to legal challenges for other coalmine approvals, including the Hunter Valley Operations extension.