Forestry Tasmania v Brown [2007] FCAFC 186

On appeal, this decision was overturned. It was held that Forestry Tasmania was exempt by virtue of s 38 as the Tasmanian Regional Forestry Agreement did not require them to protect the threatened species. It is important to note that this was overturned on the basis of the interpretation of the Agreement and the Act. Therefore, the findings of fact about the extent of protection for the threatened species were still valid. This affected the purpose and effect of Regional Forestry Agreements given that Brown v Forestry Tasmania had strong implications for the obligations of the State in the protection of threatened species. The effect of this appeal means that the Federal and State government determine what constitutes a threatened species, rather than the general definition of that applying.

(Contribution:  Case provided by Friedrich Kuepper from the Queensland University of Technology)