On Thursday, Annika Reynolds presented to the 7th Frontiers Environmental Law Conference hosted by the University of Adelaide. The presentation was based on research undertaken by Annika, fellow GreenLaw member, Andrew Ray and two ANU academics, Matthew Zagor and Heather Roberts.

The presentation titled, ‘Student-Driven Environmental Law Reform: Assessing Impact, Practical Lessons and Pathways for Development’ is an Australia-first empirical analysis of how submissions are used by governments and the impact students can have on law reform.

The team found that academic submissions, made by students and/or academics, are far more likely to be cited in government inquiries than academic articles – highlighting the importance of being involved directly in law reform efforts.

The team have also developed a framework to more effectively manage student-based submission groups, drawing on the experiences of the ANU Law Reform and Social Justice Research Hub and GreenLaw!

These lessons will be integrated into GreenLaw’s skill development workshops and submission writing sessions over 2021.