The promised Environmental Planning and Protection Bill was yesterday slammed as “an empty and vacuous promise” by Save the Bays’ legal director, who argued it could have prevented the current landfill inferno if implemented earlier. Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney partner, told Tribune Business he had little faith the Government was serious about greater environmental protection given the timing of the Bill’s unveiling. The draft Bill, unveiled by Kenred Dorsett, minister of the environment and housing, last week, comes

The Government would help create a “far greater” number of “meaningful” Bahamian jobs if it abandoned its current development approach in favour of the ‘green economy’, a well-known QC believes. Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, said such an economic model would help to attract investors and visitors from the United States and elsewhere, many of whom were attracted to environmentally-friendly destinations. He argued that it would also create many more sustainable, high-paying jobs, than the current development

A prominent Queen’s Counsel (QC) yesterday accused the government of “erecting artificial barriers” that would – if upheld by the courts – prevent litigation of matters of extreme public interest. He made the charge after government counsel demanded $100,000 in security for costs in a legal challenge of the government’s Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA) consultations.