Port Stephens Council v Jeffrey Sansom [2007] NSWCA 299

Reported Decision: 156 LGERA 125

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION: Port Stephens Council v Jeffrey Sansom [2007] NSWCA 299

HEARING DATE(S): 7 August 2007

JUDGMENT DATE: 25 October 2007

JUDGMENT OF: Spigelman CJ at 1; Mason P at 101; Beazley JA at 102; Giles JA at 103; Ipp JA at 104

DECISION: The appeal should be dismissed with costs.

CATCHWORDS: ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING - Courts and tribunals with environment jurisdiction - New South Wales - Land and Environment Court and its predecessors - Costs - Land and Environment Court Rules Pt 16, r 4 - Status of case law dealing with former test - ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING - Courts and tribunals with environment jurisdiction - New South Wales - Land and Environment Court and its predecessors - Costs - Land and Environment Court Rules Pt 16, r 4 - Discretionary nature of award of costs - Approach to interpreting "fair and reasonable" - ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING - Courts and tribunals with environment jurisdiction - New South Wales - Land and Environment Court and its predecessors - Costs - Land and Environment Court Rules Pt 16, r 4 - Discretionary nature of award of costs - Role of principles or guidelines in exercise of a judicial discretion - ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING - Courts and tribunals with environment jurisdiction - New South Wales - Land and Environment Court and its predecessors - Costs - Land and Environment Court Rules Pt 16, r 4 - Discretionary nature of award of costs - "no discouragement" principle impermissible constraint on exercise of discretion - ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING - Courts and tribunals with environment jurisdiction - New South Wales - Land and Environment Court and its predecessors - Costs - Land and Environment Court Rules Pt 16, r 4 - Appropriate weight to be accorded to nature of proceedings - Relevance of analogies with merits review or adversarial litigation - WORDS AND PHRASES: "fair and reasonable".