Protesters who lost bid to stop golf course redevelopment face $150k legal fee bill

Protesters who lost a bid to stop the North Adelaide golf course redevelopment have been asked by the state government to pay $150,000 in legal bills. The move has sparked concerns that it could discourage people from exercising their legal rights to protect the environment.

Background of the case

Edwin Kemp Attrill and Janette Milera, who brought the case against the state government earlier this year, lost a bid in the Federal Court earlier this month to stop the felling of almost 600 trees. The court rejected their argument that the state government's actions were breaching federal conservation laws.

Government's legal fees and proposed settlement

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the government's legal bills were estimated at between $450,000 and $550,000, and that Mr Kemp Attrill and Ms Milera have been asked to pay $150,000 of that total bill. "Mr Attrill has cost the people of South Australia, hardworking taxpayers, he's cost them money," he said.

"We have an opportunity to recover some of those costs, but we don't want to do it in a way that is punitive to Mr Attrill himself. In order to settle this, we're giving him an opportunity to accept a payment of $150,000 which we think represents a balance between the competing interests."

Reaction from protesters' lawyer

Mr Kemp Attrill and Ms Milera's lawyer Ted Hui said the proposal by the government would "have a huge financial impact on my clients". "This would be discouraging for people exercising their legal rights to protect the environment," he said. "We will be reviewing the offer and case precedents in preparation of legal arguments."

Next steps

Premier Malinauskas said if the offer was rejected, the government would "reserve its rights to recoup what our advice tells us are potentially recoverable costs". He added that it was important to not set "a bad precedent that would be at the expense of taxpayers". "[It's] just a balance we have to try and preserve," Mr Malinauskas said.