My home is my castle: does this principle yield when I block your view or shade the sun's rays from you?

The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute is currently looking at the issue of hedges or trees that block the view or solar access of people in the near vicinity. Should Tasmania, as has already occurred in New SouthWales, Queensland and New Zealand, proactively legislate to provide a resolution to this type of dispute between neighbours, or is it a situation where a person should be entitled to do as they please with their land? What we learn from a comparative examination is that the idea that a person’s home is their castle is now being softened as perceived community responsibilities impinge. What any legislative regime must do is sensitively balance a person’s right to privacy with the wishes of a neighbour who wants to retain the aesthetic and economic value of a view or solar access. Drawing such a balance will inevitably bring out divergent opinions and can itself lead to conflict.What must be achieved in any proposed regime is a cure that is not worse than the disease it is seeking to remedy.