O’Brien v Slack-Smith & Anor; O’Brien v Hall & Anor; O’Brien v Hall [2015] NSWLEC 1179

O’Brien v Slack-Smith & Anor; O’Brien v Hall & Anor; O’Brien v Hall [2015] NSWLEC 1179

An Access Management Plan under Part 10A of the Mining Act provides for managed access for all existing and future SST holders on the land, not merely access to specific SSTs via particular routes. The AMP may set out routes, conditions, and restrictions, but cannot include matters of compensation or maintenance as these are dealt with separately under ss266 and 292SA of the Mining Act. The Court cannot grant more extensive rights than those given by statute, and must ensure that AMP provisions are not inconsistent with the Mining Act or regulations. The preferred form for the AMP is that proposed by the plaintiff, adopting a template with attachments as outlined in the judgment.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
25 May 2015
Procedural Posture
Appeal – Mining (class 8 Land and Environment Court) / Judgment Following Hearing and Written Submissions
Outcome
Directions given for parties to settle AMPs in accordance with the judgment; Court orders filed; determination on contested AMP terms resolved.
Legal Topics
['access Management Plans' 'small Scale Titles' 'opal Mining' 'landholder Rights' 'statutory Interpretation' 'jurisdiction of Land and Environment Court']
['mining Law' 'environmental Law' 'land Law'] ['access Management Plans' 'small Scale Titles' 'opal Mining' 'landholder Rights' 'statutory Interpretation' 'jurisdiction of Land and Environment Court']

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Procedural Posture

Appeal – Mining (class 8 Land and Environment Court) / Judgment Following Hearing and Written Submissions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether an Access Management Plan (AMP) under Part 10A of the Mining Act 1992 provides blanket access to all small-scale title (SST) holders or is limited to particular access routes and titles' 'Whether the Court can include compensation or road maintenance provisions in an AMP' 'Jurisdiction and scope of powers under Mining Act 1992 and recent amendments']

Ratio Decidendi

An Access Management Plan under Part 10A of the Mining Act provides for managed access for all existing and future SST holders on the land, not merely access to specific SSTs via particular routes. The AMP may set out routes, conditions, and restrictions, but cannot include matters of compensation or maintenance as these are dealt with separately under ss266 and 292SA of the Mining Act. The Court cannot grant more extensive rights than those given by statute, and must ensure that AMP provisions are not inconsistent with the Mining Act or regulations. The preferred form for the AMP is that proposed by the plaintiff, adopting a template with attachments as outlined in the judgment.

Court Disposition

Directions given for parties to settle AMPs in accordance with the judgment; Court orders filed; determination on contested AMP terms resolved.

Orders

  • ['The parties are directed to prepare settled copies of the AMPs for each property in accordance with the judgment and file within 1 month.' 'Printed and electronic (Word and PDF) copies of each AMP and associated maps to be lodged with the Court.' 'Matter set down for telephone mention at 9am on 29 June 2015.' 'If...