Current practice

Industry experience

Energy

• Tim has advised on the environmental impact assessment and approval processes, including panel advice and representation where relevant, for the Basslink and Murraylink electricity interconnectors, and Bogong hydro electricity power station
• advised on environmental impact assessment and related noise, cultural heritage, flora and fauna, and Commonwealth environmental law issues for a number of wind farm developments in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Clients include Roaring 40s, Pacific Hydro, AGL, TME/Gamesa, Acciona, and Wind Farm Developments Australia
• advised the financiers and developers of a number of gasfields and gas pipeline projects throughout Australia. These include the Esperance gas-fired power station and pipeline (WA), Telfer pipeline (WA), Patricia Baleen and Sole gas fields and offshore/onshore pipelines (Vic), Casino gas field (Vic), the McIntee and Flynn pipelines in eastern Victoria, and the South Gippsland Pipeline (Vic)
• advised on the financing of the acquisition of Yallourn Energy.
• APPEA legal representation on the Commonwealth working group on the decommissioning of offshore petroleum infrastructure
• advising on a wide range of state and Commonwealth environmental and cultural heritage issues associated with Santos’ operations in the Cooper Basin.

Mining and resources

• Tim has advised FMG on various state and Commonwealth environmental law issues associated with its Pilbara open cut iron ore mine and associated rail and port upgrades
• advising on various environmental impact assessment law issues associated with the development of the Cape Preston iron ore mine and port upgrade in the Pilbara, including managing issues associated with stygofauna and triglofauna
• advising on environmental and land-use planning issues associated with Lihir Gold’s gold mining operations in Ballarat, Victoria.

Roads and rail

• He is currently advising Transurban on environmental, land-use planning and cultural heritage issues associated with the widening of the Monash Freeway in metropolitan Melbourne
• advising John Holland Group on EPBC Act issues on the Regional Fast Rail project, Victoria
• advising the Victorian Department of Infrastructure on the upgrade of the Mildura railway line, and on the upgrade of the Sunshine and Dandenong lines
• advising the builders of the Eastlink Freeway in eastern Melbourne on cultural heritage issues

Industrial and waste

• Tim has advised on the developments on pulp mill projects at Bell Bay in Tasmania, and Penola in South Australia
• advised on a range of environmental compliance issues associated with oil refineries in South Australia and Victoria, the Maryvale pulp and paper mill in Victoria, and petrochemical and manufacturing industries in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania. Clients include Shell, Orica, Australian Paper, Goulburn Murray Water, Probuild, and Alcoa
• advised a client on the importation and disposal of disused military waste from East Timor
• advised Cleanaway on numerous legal issues associated with its landfill operations around Australia, and on the successful VCAT appeal for a putrescible landfill proposal in south-east Melbourne.

General pollution and land contamination

• adviser to Spotless Group Limited in Victorian Supreme Court litigation associated with a contaminated property in Melbourne
• advised a number of developers of contaminated properties, including Lend Lease (Victoria Harbour and the Edgewater residential estate) and Investa
• hundreds of property and business transactions involving contaminated properties throughout Australia
• numerous EPA investigations, prosecutions and enforcement proceedings in Victoria, including pollution abatement and clean up notices, and in South Australia and Queensland. I have also assisted with pollution incident response strategies. Clients include Caltex, Santos, George Weston Foods
• advised Goulburn Murray Water on a number of environmental and natural resource issues, especially associated with the EPA audit following the Goulburn River fish-kill incident.

Land-use planning

• capital city planning associated with the development or re-development of several commercial and office buildings in the Melbourne CAD, including the heritage listing of the Myer store in Bourke Street
• advising and representing a developer in the Traralgon By-pass panel hearing. The case raised important issues about balancing the desirability of preserving exploitable coal reserves with the need to accommodate the expansion of the Traralgon township
• advising and representing Delfin Lend Lease on its residential estate projects at Edgewater on the Maribyrnong and Caroline Springs, Melbourne
• advising Pacific Shopping Centres on planning issues at Werribee and Epping Plaza shopping centres and the development of the Tooronga centre, QIC on the Eastland, Woodgrove and Watergardens centres, Lend Lease Retail on the re-development of the Greensborough Plaza centre, Centro on planning issues at Box Hill and Mildura, and Glen Eira on its retail centres review. Tim also advised the developers of the Cambridge Homemaker centre at Hobart.

Cultural heritage and native title

• Tim advises parties to the Gunai Kurnai, Latji Latji and Wergaia native title claims in Victoria, and recently negotiated the settlement terms of the Gunditjmara native title claim in western Victoria with the state and the claimants for industrial and petroleum clients.
• advised the developers of the Basslink and Murraylink interconnectors, Patricia Baleen and Casino gas fields, and Portland windfarm on native title future act procedures, including negotiations with native title claimants
• adviser to the developers of a large number of residential estate, infrastructure and energy projects on Aboriginal cultural heritage risk management.

Professional background