With the removal of Australia’s carbon price in 2014 and Australian governments continuing to ignore climate science and build our economic future on the mining and consumption of fossil fuels, what hope is there to protect our natural world? Is environmental law able to protect the environment – or is it all just politics? What role will law reform and community activism play in building stronger environmental governance in Australia in the future? And can our laws and institutions keep up with innovative social movements to protect the Earth community?

Join us for a timely gathering to reflect on the current state and future possibilities for environmental law and governance in Australia. Our two day conference will bring together members of the judiciary, climate change lawyers and experts, leaders from the environmental NGO sector, lawyers from public interest environmental law centres, community groups, academics and regulators.

Confirmed speakers so far

• The Hon. Justice Brian Preston, Chief Judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court
• Professor Irene Watson, University of South Australia and the Tanganekald and Meintangk First Nations Peoples
• David Ritter, CEO Greenpeace Australia
• Adjunct Professor Rob Fowler, University of South Australia
• Professor Brendan Mackey, Director, Griffith Climate Change Response Program
• Professor Matthew Rimmer, QUT Law School
• Dr Nicole Rogers, Southern Cross University Law School
• Aidan Ricketts, Southern Cross University Law School
• Jo-Anne Bragg, CEO, Environmental Defenders Office Qld
• Brendan Sydes, CEO, Environmental Justice Australia
• Sue Higginson, CEO, Environmental Defenders Office NSW
  * Dr Michelle Maloney, Convenor, Australian Earth Laws Alliance

Conference information
Further conference information will be available in early April, including the following:

• Registration – will open 11th April 2016
• Conference Dinner – to be held Friday evening, 21st October 2016
• More information about accommodation close to the venue in Brisbane
• Side events – including links to Earth Arts exhibitions and events in Brisbane at the same time as the conference

Call for papers
Call for papers opens 16th March and closes 1st June 2016

We welcome proposals for individual papers and panels addressing a wide range of themes exploring the future of environmental law and governance in Australia. Themes can include, but are not limited to, the following:

* Climate change
* Earth jurisprudence, Earth laws and Ecocide
* Biodiversity, wildlife and animal law
* Water, land, air and food
* Indigenous knowledge and governance
* Community activism and the law
* Regulating consumption
* Politics and the law
* Innovative pathways to reform

To prepare your abstract, please use the Conference 2016 Abstract Template, which can be downloaded from our conference website. Only abstracts that meet the formatting requirements will be accepted for consideration. Please email your abstracts – on the AELA Template – to: conference16@earthlaws.org.au. Please write ‘ABSTRACT’ followed by your name in the email subject title – thank you!

See you at the conference!