A case of place: Solastalgia comes before the court

Abstract

In 2005, Professor Glenn Albrecht wrote in this journal about the concept of 'solastalgia', a phenomenon he had witnessed and researched in the Upper Hunter Valley in Australia following the rapid expansion of open-cut coal mining. A combination of the concepts of solace and desolation, Albrecht's neologism attempted to capture the distress and suffering experienced by people when their place of residence was threatened by significant environmental transformation. In 2013, the concept came before the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, in the case of 'Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association Inc v Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and Warkworth Mining Limited' [2013] NSWLEC 48. In this case, the Court overturned a government decision to approve an application to expand the Mount Thorley-Warkworth coal mine. The Court held that the expansion of the mine would have had significant negative impacts upon the community and the environment, which would not have been outweighed by the projected economic benefits to be gained. The decision was heralded as a triumph of David over Goliath; indeed, it has been rare for major development approvals of this kind to be subsequently overturned by the Court. This article explores how the relatively new concept of solastalgia was received by the Court in the 'Bulga' decision as a means to understand and articulate the psychological effects of place transition upon a community. It also discusses developments in the case since the appeal, contemplating how the notion of 'place' might be considered in future land use decisions involving mining.