Why the climate crisis is one of the biggest human rights challenges of our time<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\")
Craig Longman, Professor of Practice, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, at LawHack 2023
\nLawHack 2026 focus areas<\/p>\n
LawHack 2026 concentrates on adaptation and mitigation strategies to promote accountability within climate law. Each team is allocated one of six broad questions which fall under two main categories:<\/p>\n
Adaptation measures which aim to prevent or minimise climate crisis damage. These questions explore how the legal system can support green energy, community resilience, and the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis on communities, while protecting the human rights of all people.
\nMitigation measures implemented to lower the rate of acceleration of the climate crisis. These questions focus on challenging existing legal frameworks, holding big polluters and government to account, and changing professional practices to support climate action.<\/p>\n
Teams must determine their focus and identify opportunities for impact, before designing strategies that are bold and ambitious, but also achievable.<\/p>\n
During the pitches at the end of the day, the LawHack 2026 judges will evaluate strategies against six key criteria:<\/p>\n
CHANGE \u2013 bold and strategic, showing potential to change the status quo (law, policy, culture and public perception).
\nHUMILITY \u2013 respects people with lived experience as experts, drivers, and catalysts of change.
\nACHIEVABLE \u2013 clearly defined plan and strategy to make change.
\nNOVEL \u2013 using legal action and advocacy in original, creative and innovative ways.
\nGROUNDED \u2013 grounded in lived experience by addressing barriers of discrimination and injustice, in particular multi-layered disadvantage and discrimination.
\nEVIDENCE \u2013 informed by research, data and evidence of need.<\/p>\n
Lawhack 2026 expert mentors and judges<\/p>\n
Participants are supported by leading voices in climate justice and Indigenous leadership, including:<\/p>\n
Dr Keely Boom \u2013 Awabakal woman, lawyer and Executive Officer of the Climate Justice Programme
\nProfessor Craig D Longman \u2013 Director of the Legal Strategies Hub at Jumbunna and barrister at Black Chambers
\nProfessor Beth Goldblatt \u2013 Leading researcher on equality-focused responses to climate change at the University of Technology Sydney
\nKatrina Bullock \u2013 Journalist, lawyer and Head of Development and General Counsel at the Environmental Defenders Office<\/p>\n
The pitches will be judged by two experts:<\/p>\n
Dr Marcelle Burns \u2013 Gomeroi-Kamilaroi woman and Associate Dean of Indigenous Leadership and Engagement in the Faculty of Law at UTS
\nDr Bal Kama \u2013 Strategic public law advocate specialising in constitutional law, human rights and climate justice<\/p>\n
Mentors will be on hand to make sure LawHack strategies are intersectional and community-centred.<\/p>\n
What next?<\/p>\n
LawHack 2026 demonstrates what is possible when legal professionals work collectively toward climate accountability. It harnesses expertise and strategic thinking to confront one of the most urgent challenges of our time.<\/p>\n
The National Justice Project is laying the groundwork for climate justice work that holds governments and corporations to account and centres the leadership and lived experience of affected communities.<\/p>\n
Read more: How we catalysed legal action through LawHack 2023: Rights of the Child<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LawHack 2026 is the third strategic legal innovation event co-hosted by the National Justice Project and the Jumbunna…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,6045,44],"class_list":["post-528232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-climate","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LawHack-photo-2023-4.jpg\"\/)
Craig Longman, Professor of Practice, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, at LawHack 2023