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ABSTRACT
Deliberative democracy in the form of community participation is considered a ‘key priority’ in New South Wales (NSW) environmental planning. Community participation plays an increasingly central role in state significant developments, which are often sites of contestation. Community participation processes draw upon particular factors of place-based identity, which engage with notions of procedural legitimacy in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. This paper uses a legal geography analysis to explore this link between place-based identity and the experience of procedural legitimacy. We highlight a case study in which a contested coal mining development near Lithgow, NSW was approved by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC). This analysis examines how ‘local’ justice was constructed and mobilised in specific ways by proponents and opponents alike. Spatial factors of identity manifested in distinct ways in participation processes, particularly with respect to (i) claims to legitimacy and (ii) the lived experiences of engagement in a public forum. This case study demonstrates the way in which dualistic spatial terms such as ‘outsider’ opposition and ‘local’ support can render multiple interests of both human and non-human communities invisible. In so doing we are engaging with current work on environmental justice that examines the intersection of scale, efficacy and equity in processes of environmental governance.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 Under Section 5 of Schedule 1 of the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (State and Regional Development) 2011.
2 Under the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (State and Regional Development) 2011 in accordance with 89C of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (EP&A Act).
3 Constituted under 23B of the EP&A Act.
4 Under Section 99 (7) of the EP&A Act.
5 See Warkworth Mining Limited v. Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association Inc [2014] NSWCA 105; Upper Mooki Landcare Inc v. Shenhua Watermark Coal Pty Ltd and NSW Minister for Planning [2016] NSWLEC 6; Hunter Environment Lobby Inc v. Minister for Planning [2011] NSWLEC 221; Barrington-Gloucester-Stroud Preservation Alliance Inc v. Minister for Planning and Infrastructure [2012] NSWLEC 197.
6 It is acknowledged that the two are not mutually exclusive. Schlosberg (Citation2007) identified distribution, recognition, participation and capacity as central to EJ.
7 Springvale Colliery is owned by Centennial Coal Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the Thai-owned Banpu Public Co. Ltd, and the Korean-owned SK Kores Australia Pty Ltd.
8 Managed for both conservation and natural resource use under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NSW).
9 Formerly the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW). Details relevant to this discussion regarding swamp designation and identified threats remain the same under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW).
10 NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. 2001. Blue Mountains Water Skink (Eulamprus leuarensis) Recovery Plan. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville, NSW.
11 The Blue Mountains Conservation Society was involved in litigation against Delta Electricity regarding water contamination of Cox's River following a failed water transfer scheme between Springvale Mine and Delta Electricity's Wallerawang Power Station. The litigation ran for over 2 years before being settled out of court. See Blue Mountains Conservation Society Inc v. Delta Electricity [2009] NSWLEC 150 (9 September 2009) and Delta Electricity v. Blue Mountains Conservation Society Inc [2010] NSWCA 263 (18 October 2010).
12 Reference to Lithgow residents is inclusive of residents of Wallerawang, Portland, and Marangaroo and elsewhere in the region. This term has been used for simplicity.