Democratic rights

Environmental Justice Australia helps communities gain access to justice, whether it’s defending community members’ right to object to inappropriate developments, defending the right to advocate and protest, being a watchdog of EPAs (environmental protection agencies), or helping communities navigate complex environmental impact assessments when new mines are proposed.

The principle of environmental justice holds that it is unjust for one part of the community to bear more than its share of environmental burden (and associated impacts such as those on human health).

Communities in Melbourne’s west have long endured pollution and health impacts from landfills, heavy truck traffic and toxic dumping, so we work with groups like MTAG – the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group – and WREC – the Western Region Environment Centre – to help those communities enforce their democratic rights.