Esposito v Commonwealth of Australia [2014] FCA 1440

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Esposito v Commonwealth of Australia [2014] FCA 1440 Citation: Esposito v Commonwealth of Australia [2014] FCA 1440

Parties: JUNE YVONNE ESPOSITO, MARGARET-ANNE HUTTON, DANIEL WALTER MASSAIOLI, SAM DE MARIA, BRIAN GEORGE EDWARD SMITH and FRANCESCO JOHN TALARICO v COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, STATE OF NEW SOUTH WALES, SHOALHAVEN CITY COUNCIL, FOUNDATION FOR NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE and THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (CTH)

File number: NSD 924 of 2013

Judge: FOSTER J

Date of judgment: 24 December 2014

Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – whether certain decisions taken by the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment pursuant to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) in 2007 and 2009 were invalid because the Minister failed to take into account relevant considerations which he was obliged to take into account – whether the Commonwealth provided funding to the State in breach of Commonwealth legislation CONSTITUTIONAL LAW – whether the actions of the Commonwealth, the State of New South Wales, Shoalhaven City Council and the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife in acting to protect the environment in the Jervis Bay area impaired or contravened the Constitutional guarantee provided for in s 51(xxxi) of The Constitution vis-À-vis the applicants EQUITY – unjust enrichment – whether, in the events which have happened, the respondents, or one or more of them, have been unjustly enriched at the expense of the applicants