Lawyer leaves great legacy of contribution to environmental law
PAUL LEON STEIN
What does one say about another overachieving immigrant whose contributions to Australian society were as significant as they were broad?
Stein’s contribution to the development of environmental and planning law in Australia and internationally cannot be overstated. His decisions on the discretion of the court to provide special costs orders in public interest environmental law cases promoted access to environmental justice.
As one of his close judicial colleagues said, “perhaps the Honourable Paul Stein’s greatest legacy was to remind us that sitting at the root of all our endeavours should be an ethical foundation, a caring for country, for one another and for future generations”.
Born in London on January 4, 1939, Paul Stein settled in Sydney in 1953 with his family and was educated at Sydney Boys High School and the University of Sydney.
Called to the NSW Bar in 1961, he took silk in 1981. Appointed as a judge of the District Court in 1983, Stein became a judge of the Land and Environment Court of NSW (1985-1997) and was then elevated to the NSW Court of Appeal (1997-2003).
Paul Stein was “supportive of lack of robes and formality”.
He was a true professional at law, although he once joked that the NSW Bar Council seemed happy to see him appointed to the bench as a way of quelling his “radical tendencies”. Little did they know how transformative his judgments would be.
As a judge on the Land and Environment Court, he fully supported the lack of robes and formality, only to spend his last years on the Court of Appeal surrounded by yards of crimson silk and a multitude of wigs.
Stein’s 1991 decision in Corkill v Forestry Commission NSW (No 2) was the first court decision that addressed the threat to endangered species through property development and led directly to the cessation of logging in NSW old-growth forests.
Stein was the first judge to incorporate the precautionary principle into NSW law and he continually advanced the consideration of ecologically sustainable development. One of the cases for which he is most remembered and revered is his 1993 decision in Leatch v National Parks and Wildlife Service. This was the first time the principle had been applied in common law. The case has been included in training materials on environmental law for judges across Australia and the United Nations environment program.
He also held that corporations were not people and were not able to claim privilege against self-incrimination – an important precedent that advanced the capacity of environmental regulators in Australia and abroad. His judgments on the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act sought to interpret the legislation in a way that recognised the traditional and customary rights of First Nations people in NSW.
District Court Judge Paul Stein.
Stein was recognised for his service to the judiciary and community with an Order of Australia (AM). In 2009, the Law Council of Australia held a symposium in his honour to mark his contribution to environmental law. He was one of only five people in the world to be granted honorary life membership of the World Commission on Environmental Law of the IUCN.
He held several other important appointments including NSW deputy ombudsman from 1977 to 1979 and president of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board from 1979 to 1982. He was also president of the NSW Intellectually Handicapped Person Review Tribunal from 1984 to 1989.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he provided training on environmental law to judges and lawyers throughout South-East Asia and Africa. As a commissioner, he undertook the review of the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Stein was appointed president of the Anti-Discrimination Board in 1979.Credit: Paul Stephen Pearson/Fairfax Media
Above all, Stein was a person of extraordinary compassion who used his skills and wisdom to assist people in need. He was an advocate against censorship and oppression of the individual. He was committed to his work for juvenile justice, people with intellectual disabilities, community justice centres and consumer protection.
During his tenure at the Anti-Discrimination Board, he was outspoken on issues such as Aboriginal youth justice, discriminatory street offences charges and support for equality. He was the chair and board member of the Australian Consumers’ Association from 1974 until 1980.
From 2005 to 2020, Stein chaired the Board of the Law and Justice Foundation. That foundation, through its research, policy development and education activities, sought to improve access to justice, particularly for socially and economically disadvantaged people.
Judge Paul Stein and daughter Jesse at home in Balmain, 1987.Credit: Fairfax
Upon retiring from the bench, Stein maintained his contribution to social justice and the environment. His wisdom, experience and forensic analytical skills were highly sought after and he served as chair of various local government planning panels. His incisive commentary on social issues such as anti-corruption and inclusion of First Nations peoples in the constitution was well regarded and widely influential.
Supreme Court Justice Paul Stein.
For all his professional and civil interests, Stein celebrated life abundantly with travel, music, friends and family, including his three daughters, Yasmin, Gigi and Jesse and beloved grandsons. While many had occasion to enjoy his seemingly boundless knowledge and generosity, fewer knew of his passion for “the beautiful game” and the many times he would sit in the crowds with his daughter Jesse, willing his home team Sydney FC to victory or cheering on the Matildas.
While he eschewed the idea of surfing, the bush of the NSW South Coast had a strong pull. In his second home at Bawley Point, the community respected this reserved man and often referred to him warmly as “Your Honour”, especially when he umpired the infamous New Year’s Day Bawley Point cricket match.
Paul Stein in later years.
Stein was deeply respected, widely revered and loved by many. He was known for his cutting wit and his dreadful puns. His commitment to his adopted country and his role in protecting both its vulnerable people and its vulnerable environment has left a valuable legacy.
His judgments helped create a strong foundation for the development of environmental law in Australia and his internationalism helped to promote the work of Australian judges worldwide.
Matthew Baird, Barbara Adams, Chris Ronalds