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Susan Shearing

Profile

Degrees

BA/LLB Macq; LLM Syd


Courses Taught

  • Contract Law
  • Biodiversity Law
  • Environmental Law
  • Environmentally Sustainable Business
  • Heritage Law
  • Torts and Contracts II


Areas of Interest

  • Sustainable business and environmental regulation
  • Environmental financing
  • Natural and cultural heritage and protected areas management
  • Water law
  • Biodiversity Law
  • Climate change


Brief Biographical Detail

Susan specializes in environmental law and teaches in both undergraduate and postgraduate environmental law units. She has published in the areas of natural and cultural heritage and environmental taxation. Susan is a member of the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law and the National Environmental Law Association.

Susan has extensive experience in legal practice having worked for six years with leading commercial law firm Allens Arthur Robinson (advising principally in relation to banking and finance, general commercial law and resource management issues) and three years as an IT company in house counsel. Susan was a senior policy advisor with the Legislation and Policy Unit of the New South Wales Attorney General's Department, advising with respect to corporate law matters. Since completing her LLM at the University of Sydney, Susan has taught widely at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and combines her extensive experience in commercial legal practice with a keen research interest in environmental and corporate/commercial law areas.

Susan has taught in the following AusAID-funded training programs –

  • Regulation and Management of Extractive Resources – Australian Leadership Award Fellowship program with Fellows from Africa, Cambodia and Timor Lesté
  • Sustainable Management of Revenue Flows from Extractive Industries – Australia Africa Awards program

In these programs, Susan taught: (i) management of environmental issues arising from natural resource extraction; (ii) corporate social responsibility in the natural resource sector; and (iii) mining and gender issues.

Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals | Book Chapters | Editorial/Reporting Positions | Reports and Submissions | Book Reviews | Published Conference Papers | Conference Presentations

Articles in Refereed Journals

  • Shearing, S, 'The Role of Export Credit Agencies in environmental management: assessing the environmental impact of international benchmarks in ECA financing' (2013) Environmental and Planning Law Journal (forthcoming)
  • Shearing, S, 'Raising the boardroom temperature? Climate change and shareholder activism in Australia' (2012) 29 Environmental and Planning Law Journal 479-497
  • Shearing, S, 'Reforming Australia’s National Heritage Law Framework', (2012) 8(1) Macquarie Journal of International and Comparative Environmental Law 71-95
  • Shearing, S, ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Climate Change and World Heritage’ (2008) 12(2) Australasian Journal of Natural Resources Law and Policy 161-200
  • Shearing, S, ‘One Step Forward? Recent Developments in Australian State and Territory Indigenous Cultural Heritage Laws’ (2006) 3(1) Macquarie Journal of International and Comparative Environmental Law 35-66
  • Shearing, S ‘Taxation Incentives for Conservation Covenants’ (2006) 1 Local Government Law Journal 139-152
  • Shearing, S, ‘Protecting Movable Cultural Heritage’ (1996) 13 Environmental Planning Law Journal 477- 486

Book Chapters

  • Shearing, S and Tava, V, “Environmental Law-Australia and New Zealand”, Encyclopedia of Sustainability, Volume 3: The Law & Politics of Sustainability, Berkshire Vol 3/10 (2010)
  • Shearing, S, “Biodiversity” in D Leary and B Pisupati (eds), Future of International Environmental Law and its Role in Development, United Nations University Press: Tokyo (2010) 42-77
  • Shearing, S, “Climate Governance and Corporations: Changing the way 'Business does Business?'” in R Lyster (ed), In the Wilds of Climate Law, Australian Academic Press: Australia (2010) 175-194
  • Shearing, S & Wiffen, G, “Conserving Biodiversity” in Rosemary Lyster, Zada Lipman, Nicola Franklin, Graeme Wiffen, Linda Pearson, Environmental and Planning Law in New South Wales (2nd edition), Federation Press: Sydney (2009) 352-394

Editorial/Reporting Positions

  • Co-Editor in Chief (with Dr Tim Stephens), Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law

Reports and Submissions

  • Martin, P, Werren, K & Shearing, S, ‘Concepts for Private sector funded conservation using tax-effective instruments', Land & Water Australia (2007)
  • Craig, D & Shearing, S, ‘Best Practice Models and Approaches for Indigenous Engagement in the Murray Darling Basin', Consultancy Report contributing to the Murray-Darling Basin Commission Indigenous Action Plan endorsed by the Murray-Darling Basin Commission in March 2006 (2004)

Book Reviews

  • Shearing, S, ‘Book Review: Global Climate Change Australian Law and Policy, David Hodgkinson and Renee Garner, 2008 LexisNexis Butterworths’ (2009) 7(6) Local Government Reporter 88-90
  • Shearing, S, ‘Book Review: The Disappearing “Asian” City protecting Asia´s Urban Heritage in a Globalizing World’ (2004) 1 Macquarie Journal of International and Comparative Environmental Law 137-139

Published Conference Papers

  • Shearing, S, ‘Heritage Policy and Regulation: Challenges and Possibilities’, proceedings of the INTACH Vision 2020 Conference, New Delhi 2-4 November 2004 (2005) INTACH 165-175

Conference Presentations

  • Shearing , S, 'Environmental Law and Corporate Standards', Macquarie University Law School, 2 November 2010
  • Shearing, S, 'Marine Biodiversity and Adaptation to Climate Change', NELA National Conference: The Politics of Biodiversity, Canberra, 20-23 October 2010
  • Shearing, S, 'Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change: What is the Role of the Law in Facilitating Climate Change Adaptation?', 8th IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium Linkages Between Biodiversity and Climate Change, Ghent, Belgium 14-16 September 2010
  • Shearing, S, 'Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change: Legal Responses to the Challenge of Adaptation', ACCEL Conference 2010: Resilience and Climate Change: Law's Response?, Sydney, 26-27 August 2010
  • Shearing, S, 'Heritage and Biodiversity', ACCEL Seminar Series 2010, Sydney, 5 May 2010
  • Shearing, S, ‘International Cultural Heritage Law and the Australian Legal Framework’, International Law and Cultural Heritage, NSW Young Lawyers CLE, Sydney, November 2009
  • Shearing, S, ‘Climate Change and Corporations - Some Climate Governance Issues’, Intersections Between Global Climate Change Law and Policy, Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law, Sydney Law School, University of Sydney, 2008
  • Shearing, S, ‘Indigenous Cultural Heritage Conservation in Australia - Recent Developments and Opportunities Lost’, William S Richardson School of Law Environmental Law Program (ELP) Environmental Law Colloquia Series, April 2006
  • Shearing, S, ‘Recognition of Indigenous cultural heritage values in water regulation and management in Australia’, State Bar of Hawaii Natural Resources Section Meeting, April 2006
  • Shearing, S, ‘Taxation Incentives for Conservation Covenants’, IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Third Colloquium, Sydney, 10-15 July 2005
  • Shearing, S, ‘Heritage Policy and Regulation: Challenges and Possibilities’, INTACH Vision 2020 Conference, New Delhi 2-4 November 2004