Vale: The Honourable Paul Leon Stein AM KC

The Honourable Paul Stein AM KC passed away on Saturday, 22 June 2024. Paul Stein was appointed a judge of the District Court in 1981, serving until he was appointed to the Land and Environment Court on 3 June 1985. He served with distinction as a judge of the Land and Environment Court until 7 April 1997, when he was appointed as a judge to the Court of Appeal. Paul Stein served as a judge of appeal until April 2003. Paul Stein served afterwards in many roles, including as a chair of various planning panels established under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW). Paul Stein has made a significant contribution to planning and environmental law over many decades. Amongst many significant decisions he made as a judge, three stand out. First, his pioneering decision on the precautionary principle in Leatch v National Parks and Wildlife Service and Shoalhaven City Council (1993) 81 LGERA 270. Second, his important decisions on assessing harm to threatened fauna by logging in native forests in Corkill v Forestry Commission of NSW (1991) 73 LGRA 126 and Corkill v Hope (1991) 74 LGRA 33. This Court and the people of NSW are in his debt for his service to the law, and planning and environmental law in particular.