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Students withdraw appeal from decision on environmental duty of care

Students withdraw appeal from decision on environmental duty of care

Students that sued the government have warned they won’t forget our names in the Federal Election.

Eight students who took the federal environment minister to court over climate change have decided they won’t be challenging the federal government in the High Court.

In a landmark ruling, the Federal Court ruled that the minister had a duty not to cause personal injury to children in Australia when approving coal mine expansion.

The decision was initially a win for climate action but was overturned by appeals last month.

“We should never have needed to file this case in the first place,” the students wrote in a joint statement released on Tuesday.

The eight litigants in the case were Anjali Sharma and Luca Saunders, Isolderaj-Seppings Laura Kirwan, Bella Burgemeister Tomas Webster Arbizu Ava Princi, Veronica Hester, and Ambrose Hayes.

The bench found that Ms Ley was not required to protect people from climate changes by federal environment laws.

Students claimed that they were forced to start the legal battle after exhausting all other options, including protesting and school strikes.

“It is reprehensible that the Federal Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, then subsequently used public money to take us back to court and appeal this duty of care,” the students wrote.

The students are firm in their belief that the Environment Minister has a moral responsibility to protect children from the adverse effects of climate change.

“Politicians, as per their job description, should owe a duty of care to wider society. This is why we elect them,” they wrote.

One victory remains for the students following the appealed decision – that is, the full bench of the Federal Court unanimously rejected the Minister’s attempts to challenge the court’s findings of facts.

“The nature of the risks and the dangers from global warming, including the possible catastrophe that may engulf the world and humanity were never in dispute,” the court noted in its March decision.

“Eventually, we will be old enough to hold the government to account at the ballot box, too,” the students’ statement read, a month out from the next Federal Election.

Fourteen of the eight students are now eligible to vote in May.

“We may become the barristers and solicitors sitting adjacent to them in a courtroom, the journalists exposing the truth on prime time television or even a candidate vying for a seat in parliament,” they said.

“They will not forget our names.”

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