Month: March 2022

Great News About Climate Litigation

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From the IPA:

IPA TODAY

Federal Court Decision A Welcome Move Against Climate Litigation

Written by Morgan Begg

15 March 2022

The Institute of Public Affairs has today welcomed the Federal Court of Australia’s finding that the federal Minister for Environment does not owe a duty of care to protect Australian children from climate change.

“Today’s decision was a long overdue display of common sense from Australian courts,” said Morgan Begg, the Director of the Legal Rights Program at the Institute of Public Affairs.

“The Australian courts should never have entertained the farcical attempt to prohibit mining and energy projects through the judicial backdoor.”

“The Full Court of the Federal Court today unanimously overturned a May 2021 Federal Court decision that found the federal Minister for Environment, when deciding whether or not to grant approval to a coal mine development, owed a duty of care to Australians under the age of 18 to avoid causing them personal injury as a consequence of increased carbon dioxide emissions.”

“The Justices were putting it lightly when they said the duty would have been “incoherent and inconsistent” under the legislation.”

“It would also be incoherent and inconsistent with a system where decisions about economic development and energy security are made as part of a democratic process,” said Mr Begg.

Morgan Begg

Morgan Begg is the Director, Legal Rights Program at the Institute of Public Affairs

Reflection on Isaiah 55:1-9

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Scripture

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “and my ways are far beyond anything you can imagine. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Observation

Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink the finest wine or milk. in God’s Kingdom, it’s all free. Listening to the Lord is like feasting on the best food.

As we listen to the Lord, he transforms us. He gives us authority to command other people and He shares His glory with us.

Seek the Lord while he is near. Those who are wicked should repent while there is time.

The Lord’s ways are nothing like the ways of people. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

Application

Could we imagine that the God who is high and lifted up would become a human being? Could we think that this God who is so holy and righteous would die on a cross to bring us back to Him?

Gods ways are beyond our ability to imagine. He is consumed by love for us and would do anything to win us back to Himself.

We try to what God might do. We place limits on Him, assuming that He thinks like we do.

Gods ways are infinitely higher than our ways.

This is why it is never good to”pray answers”, that is to tell God how to sort things out. No, He can always bring about answers to prayers that we could not imagine.

Prayer

Thank you Lord that your ways are so much higher than my ways. Please help me to trust you in all things. Amen.

Quote for the Day

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This divergence between the relatively dynamic and entrepreneurial economy in which Jesus spent His formative years and the comparatively top-heavy, political economy of Judea provides a backdrop that sheds light on the rest of the Gospel accounts. Jerry Bowyer

Quote for the Day

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What you will see is Jesus confronting the takers of wealth, not the makers of it. He did this with such vigor and clarity, the ruling class who lived and worked in that nation’s capital saw Him as a threat to their system of economic extraction. That’s why they instigated His judicial execution by the Roman state. Jerry Bowyer

What do you trust when it all goes wrong?

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The last few weeks have brought terrible events in which large numbers of people have lost everything, some even dying.

On February 24th Russia invaded Ukraine, wreaking death and destruction right through the much smaller nation. Then on the 28th, much closer to home, floodwaters rolled through Lismore and many other towns on the NSW North Coast.

Both these events were, in some ways, expected. That doesn’t reduce the shock or the devastation of the destruction that takes place.

In both situations it has been inspiring to see the ways that ordinary people have moved to serve their neighbours in the midst of chaos.

We intuitively believe that our homes are places of safety, and that we are protected there. We derive a lot of security from the belief that our possessions will help us cope with anything life will throw at us.

What happens when it all gets taken from you by force or by nature? Where do you turn for your security then?

In Psalm 27, King David writes: “The Lord is my light and my salvation – so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?”

Our response to devastating situations shows where we put our trust.

God doesn’t promise to protect us from floods and fire, but He does promise to go with us through tough times, and give us peace in the middle of chaos.