This media release was published by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund on November 25, 2019.
AUSTRALIA: The first Rights of Nature legislation has been introduced in Australia, into the Western Australia Parliament. The International Center for the Rights of Nature assisted Member of Parliament Diane Evers and the Australian Earth Laws Alliance in drafting the bill.
Western Australia MP Evers recently introduced the “Rights of Nature and Future Generations Bill 2019” which will have a second reading this week.
The legislation would secure the Rights of Nature to “exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve,” and provide the people and government of Western Australia with the ability to defend and enforce these rights on behalf of Nature. The Bill recognises the rights of First Nations Peoples to speak for and defend their ancestral lands, as well as the Rights of Nature. The Bill also recognises the rights of present and future generations to a healthy environment, and includes a clause relating to the “precautionary principle” by stating that “lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for denying or postponing the implementation, defence, or enforcement” of the Rights of Nature.
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