Potentially illegal bulldozing of critically endangered bushland for an industrial estate at Singleton in the NSW Hunter Valley has been exposed by an Australian Conservation Foundation crowdsourced investigation.
Nine hectares of native bush that has been mapped as Central Hunter Valley eucalypt forest and woodland has already been destroyed for the McDougall Business Park.
ACF has called on the land owner and property developer to protect a further 28 hectares of bush earmarked for the next stage of the project.
Eight nationally listed threatened species – swift parrots, koalas, spotted-tailed quolls, gang-gang cockatoos, grey-headed flying foxes, painted honeyeaters, brown treecreepers and glossy black cockatoos – have been recorded close to the project site, which forms part of a habitat link between the Barrington Tops and Wollemi and Yengo national parks.
The property is owned by Big Ben Holdings Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the Bloomfield Group. Hunter Land is the property developer.
Singleton Council's September 2019 Notice of Determination for the project clearly advised the applicant that it would need Commonwealth approval for any works that 'may impact vegetation on the site, particularly that identified as being Central Hunter Valley eucalypt forest and woodland ecological community which is critically endangered.'
ACF has not been able to find any evidence Commonwealth approval was sought.
"It's shocking to see this place that's mapped as critically endangered Central Hunter Valley woodland– a home for koalas, gang-gang cockatoos and grey-headed flying foxes – being wrecked for an industrial estate," said ACF national nature campaigner Jess Abrahams.
"Bulldozing bush destroys wildlife habitat. This destruction of bushland that's been mapped as a critically endangered woodland underscores again the urgent need for a national environment protection agency to crack down on rogue land clearers.
"We are in an extinction crisis. More than 7 million hectares of habitat for Australia's threatened species has been destroyed since our environment law has been in effect.
"The Albanese government must pass new nature laws to create an EPA as early as possible in 2025 to stop vital habitat being wrecked.
"It shouldn't be up to environment groups like ACF and our volunteer investigators, comparing satellite images on their phones, to uncover and put a stop to blatant nature destruction like this.
"If we want future generations of Australians to be able to see koalas and gang gang cockatoos in the wild, the government must stop businesses that are doing the wrong thing."
This deforestation came to light through ACF's crowdsourced investigation project. Once the destruction was identified, from examining changes to satellite data, ACF verified the damage on site and wrote to Bloomfield and Hunter Land.
The deforestation will be illegal under national environment law if it is likely to have a significant impact on a 'matter of national environmental significance' and does not have the Environment Minister's approval.
