Alumino (Aust) Pty Ltd (Applicant) v. Minister Administering the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (First Respondent), Col Maybury, Marcia Maybury, Kurri/Weston District Concerned Citizens Action Group Inc (Second Respondent)

This case dealt with a proposal to build a plant near the town of Kurri Kurri for the recycling of dross, a major by-product of all processes involving molten aluminium. The Minister in charge was not satisfied with the proposal given the concern about health effects, strong community opposition and doubts about the suitability of the site to accommodate the development. Community members were concerned that the development might have a negative impact on them as a consequence of emissions to air from the plant. One of the main questions the court dealt with when deciding about the development consent for the plant was whether the emissions from the plant could be controlled to a satisfactory level of safety. Besides that the court analyzed the proposed waste disposal management of the plant, the social and economic effects of the development and considered alternative modern technologies. The respondents placed considerable emphasis upon the application of the precautionary principle. The court was of the view that where development had the potential to cause significant harm to health of human beings and vegetation, extreme caution had to be used in determining whether a development consent would be granted. Nevertheless, the precautionary principle added nothing to the consideration that the court undertook by applying common sense. After listening to the testing of technical opinions and advice given by expert witnesses in the relevant fields, the court held that the development consent for the dross recycling plant could be granted subject to conditions related to, inter alia, limiting the emission rate of the plant.