Solicitors from the Environmental Defender’s Office of WA are coming to Broome on 16 May to deliver a free environmental law workshop and advice clinic. Topics covered at the workshop will include:

• environmental assessment processes under Commonwealth and State law
• mining and petroleum law
• threatened species law and
• protected areas law.

After the workshop EDO solicitors will conduct a free environmental law advice clinic, where members of the public can obtain face-to-face legal advice on environmental law matters they are concerned about.

• Workshop 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
• Advice Clinic 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
• Location: Lotteries House

Please RSVP to krobinson@edo.org.au or ph 9221 3030 The Environmental Defender’s Office of Western Australia is a community legal centre specialising in environmental law. The EDOWA provides free legal advice on environmental law to members of the public and conservation groups. ?It also represents its clients in Court in public interest environmental law cases.

Principal Solicitor Josie Walker says that understanding the law helps people to be more effective in speaking out on environmental matters: “Legal advice can be valuable at all stages of an environmental campaign. For example, understanding the steps that a mining proposal has to go through to gain approval helps community members to target their submissions to the stage where there is most potential to change the outcome. If the community is seeking better protection of a particular species or site, we can help them to understand the different protection mechanisms that exist under the law so that they can decide which type of protection they should be asking for from the state or federal government.”