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Social Event

Lunch Law Talks: Australian Environmental Impact vs Renewable Energy

Date
Tuesday, 27 October 2026
Time
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Location
Lismore Campus
Lunch Law Talks - image shows a set of scales with coffee cup and hamburger balanced either side

Categories

Hosted by:
Faculty Business, Law and Arts
Event cost:
Free

Please join us for our monthly Lunch Law Talks - topical conversations on contemporary legal issues hosted by Professor David Heilpern.

TOPIC: Australian Environmental Impact vs Renewable Energy - Finding the Legal Balance 

Australia is at a turning point. As the country works to reduce carbon emissions and transition to renewable energy, governments, industry, and communities face a critical challenge: how do we protect the environment while building the infrastructure needed for a low-carbon future?

This Lunch Law Talk explores the legal tensions that arise when projects designed to support sustainability also create environmental impacts of their own. Environmental laws, including the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), are designed to protect biodiversity, cultural heritage, water resources, and community interests. At the same time, Australia is rapidly expanding renewable energy projects and supporting the growth of digital infrastructure such as data centres to meet increasing energy and technology demands.

While these developments offer significant economic and climate benefits, they can also generate environmental concerns. Wind farms may affect bird and bat populations, solar farms require extensive land use, transmission lines can impact bushland and sensitive habitats, and large-scale data centres increasingly proposed near residential areas can consume substantial amounts of electricity and water, generate noise, and place pressure on local infrastructure and energy networks.

The session will explore:

  • How environmental impact assessments operate in Australia.
  • Why renewable energy and major infrastructure projects face legal scrutiny.
  • The environmental impacts associated with renewable energy facilities and data centres.
  • The role of governments, courts, scientists, industry, and communities in shaping development outcomes.
  • Whether environmental laws should be streamlined to accelerate development or strengthened to ensure environmental protection.

Using contemporary Australian examples, the discussion will examine one of the most significant legal and policy challenges of our time: can Australia meet its climate and technological ambitions without sacrificing the environmental values these developments are intended to protect?

This thought-provoking talk will challenge us to consider who should decide what progress looks like, what environmental costs are acceptable, and whether current laws are capable of balancing economic growth, technological advancement, and environmental sustainability in the decades ahead.

Event Details

Date: Tuesday 27 October 2026
Time: 1pm-2pm 
Venue: Campus Grind, Lismore Campus

Guest Panellists

Mayor Steve Krieg
Mayor Steve Krieg

Mayor Steve Krieg

Councillor Steve Krieg is the Mayor of Lismore, New South Wales. He is a dedicated advocate for regional development and community resilience. With a background in education and small business, Mayor Krieg brings a wealth of practical experience and leadership to his role in local government. 

Originally from Western Australia, he pursued a career in teaching after working on farms for a few years after high school. Over the course of 13 years, he taught in various locations including Queensland, Western Australia and Casino in the Northern Rivers of NSW. In 2007, he transitioned into the business sector, becoming co-owner of La Baracca, a well-regarded café in Lismore’s central business district. 

Mayor Krieg was elected to council in December of 2021, driven by a commitment to revitalizing Lismore’s economy and supporting local business. His leadership has been marked by a hands-on approach, strong community engagement, and a focus on recovery and renewal following the devastating floods in February of 2022. 

A father of five, Mayor Krieg is deeply invested in the future of Lismore and the Northern Rivers region, working to ensure it grows to become a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable place to live and work. 

Sue Higginson
Sue Higginson

Sue Higginson - Greens MP and Lawyer

Sue is a Greens MP in the NSW Upper House. She is a public interest environmental lawyer who has worked at the forefront of environmental law, conservation, science and policy for decades. Sue was the former Principal Solicitor and CEO of the Environmental Defenders Office, Australia’s leading public interest environmental law centre. She has been responsible for some of the highest profile environmental litigation in the country, involving mining giants like Rio Tinto, BHP, Santos and Adani and holding Governments to account for the environment. 

Sue has delivered environmental legal services to rural, remote, regional and First Nations communities across NSW. She has represented hundreds of environmental protestors courts across Australia. Sue has lectured and taught environmental law in universities across NSW. She holds a Bachelor of Laws, with First Class Honours and was awarded the University Medal upon graduation.

Sue is a farmer, she grows dry land rice, and other crops with her partner on the Richmond Floodplain in the Northern Rivers. Central to her farming practice is biodiversity management and conservation. She lives and works on land with koalas, where she has planted thousands of trees to try to secure their future. 

For more information

fbla.events@scu.edu.au