The firm replaces Quinn Emanuel in the suit challenging the WestConnex project
Ironbridge Legal has assumed the leading role in a class action filed against Transport for NSW over the WestConnex project.
The suit challenges land acquisitions made by the state government in line with the project, which is looking to deliver a 33km traffic-light-free motorway network in Sydney. The firm replaces Quinn Emanuel as the lead plaintiff counsel in the case, which has been brought before the NSW Supreme Court.
Since the project’s launch in 2018, the WestConnex project has been inundated by disputes concerning the land acquisition practices and property damage, Ironbridge Legal said. The government had acquired land for the M4 widening, the M5 East corridor expansion, and the M4-M5 connection under The Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW).
Under this act, the NSW government and quasi-government entities can “compulsorily acquire private land for public purposes,” Ironbridge Legal partner Trevor Withane said.
“In general terms, whether you want to sell your land or not, the NSW government and its entities can take private land or part of a property for a public purpose,” he explained. “It is critical that the rights of landowners are respected by governments, and the governments of Australia comply with the rule of law. To do otherwise would be akin to the kind of objectionable expropriation of land we see in some foreign jurisdictions.”
Withane highlighted the importance of carefully examining the legality of such acquisitions, especially when the landowners are not compensated as in the case of the WestConnex project. Ironbridge Legal pointed out that the class action is not only looking to secure fair compensation, but also “aims to set a precedent for future projects, ensuring that property rights and legal obligations are duly respected.”
On 23 November 2023, the firm filed a Further Amended Commercial List Statement with the NSW Supreme Court. Withane is set to take point on Ironbridge Legal’s team, supported by Laura Coleclough and Radith Khan.
In 2018, Transurban Group-led consortium Sydney Transport Partners first acquired a 51% stake in WestConnex from Sydney Motorway Corporation, a subsidiary that held the interests in the acquired land. Sydney Transport Partners then secured the remaining 49% interest in 2021 for $11.1bn.
Withane pointed out that Sydney motorists are “reported to pay over $123bn in tolls by 2060, which will generate substantial revenue for the New South Wales Government and the private road operators.”
