Environment

A judge has voided contracts between the Morrison government and a subsidiary of Empire Energy for gas exploration in the Beetaloo Basin after finding the decision to enter the agreement in the midst of litigation was "legally unreasonable or capricious".

Woodside Energy has been sued over its $16.5 billion Scarborough gas field development, with an environmental group alleging the project's approval was invalid because the government of Western Australia failed to properly account for its impact on climate change.

A judge overseeing a climate change class action against the government will be invited to visit the Torres Strait to see the alleged erosion of sacred sites, but before then the Commonwealth is seeking details on when it allegedly knew of the effects of global warming and the scope of its alleged duty of care.

A court has summarily dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Victorian government of acting unlawfully by improving the Western Highway and threatening to harm six 'directions' trees of cultural significance to the Djab Wurrung people.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia will have to hand over a preliminary tranche of documents relating to seven large-scale oil and gas projects it is financing in a lawsuit that will test whether the bank has complied with its stated commitments on climate change.

The Morrison government decision's to enter into a contract with a subsidiary of Empire Energy for gas exploration in the Beetaloo Basin was an effort to "stymie" climate change litigation brought against the federal resources minister, a court has heard.

A class action has been filed alleging the Morrison government has a novel duty of care to protect Torres Strait Islanders from the devastating effects of climate change.

A judge overseeing a class action against the Australian arm of Thai state owned oil giant PTT has rejected attempts to limit the claimed damages from one of Australia's largest oil spills, saying the disaster was "widespread" across Indonesian islands in the Timor Sea.

Approving coal mine projects is not the business of courts, the Morrison government has argued in its challenge to a landmark class action judgment that found it had a duty of care to protect Australian children from the effects of climate change.

Victoria's environment watchdog has been taken to court over its decision to renew the licences of the state's three remaining coal power stations, a test case under the state's Climate Change Act and the latest in a series of climate lawsuits.