Thursday 28th September 2023
The campaign to stop habitat destruction has received the backing of former NSW Premier Bob Carr, whose government introduced much of the legislation to protect habitats, ecosystems and wildlife homes that were undone by the former NSW Liberal-National Government.
Habitat clearing for agricultural development is now the biggest cause of environmental loss in NSW, with 50 million trees and almost 100,000 hectares lost in NSW each year.
"The previous government took a wrecking ball to our environmental protection laws, and without decisive action, we risk a future where much of the ecosystems we take for granted are no more" Bob Carr said today.
"I am very confident that Premier Chris Minns and Ministers Sharpe and Moriarty will work together with the environment movement and farmers on this issue and deliver big. They understand, as we all do, that some of the biggest gains for the environment in the history of NSW from the time of Neville Wran have been achieved by dedicated voluntary conservationists working with sympathetic Labor governments" Carr also said.
The Stand Up for Nature Alliance (SUFN), a coalition of leading environmental groups, is seeking to fix the biodiversity offset scheme, end the controversial self-assessment process for land clearing, and reform the Biodiversity Conservation Act, so that our environmental laws do what they are meant to - protect nature. The full report by the alliance 'Path to a Nature Positive NSW' can be seen here.
"The NSW government made an election commitment to deliver reforms in all of these areas. However, before the details have even been announced we've seen lobbyists for agribusiness launch a dedicated misinformation campaign in both the media and the halls of parliament," NCC acting CEO Dr Brad Smith said today.
"Most Farmers in NSW are now on board with sustainable land management. Now it's up to the NSW government to fix the current laws that give a competitive advantage to bad actors - typically multinational agri-businesses with no concern for the long-term viability of Australia's ecosystems." Smith continued.
"Environment Minister Penny Sharpe, Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty and other members of the NSW Parliament must make sure these much-needed reforms aren't watered down by vested interests, to ensure we have environmental protection laws that stop habitat destruction and protect nature."
Statement attributable to Jeff Angel, Director of the Total Environment Centre:
''The Minns government needs to move fast to reign in the bulldozers that are causing havoc on remnant bushland, threatened species and fragile soils.
"So many loopholes created by the previous government under the control of the National Party, need to be removed and can be via regulation. While the government is reviewing broader land clearing policy it should impose a moratorium on any new land clearing.''
Statements attributable to NCC acting CEO Dr Brad Smith.
"In 2016, the former government's changes to the Native Vegetation Act and Local Land Services Act created loopholes that allowed agricultural developers to get away with destroying critical habitats."
"The changes saw land clearing rates triple after allowing people who stand to profit most to 'self-assess' the ecological value of their land and approve its destruction.
"It's absurd that commercial agribusiness operators can simply tick a box and decide that there is nothing of environmental significance in an area they want to clear. It's like getting a student to mark their own exam.
"There are no other instances in which a citizen of NSW can simply give themselves regulatory approval for land use change and development. Yet that's exactly what these reforms do; allow landholders with a financial incentive to clear-fell a piece of land to self-assess its ecological value."
Statement attributable Leanne Taylor, CEO Wires
"A business-as-usual approach to wildlife and protection of critical and connected habitat is not only inadequate to arrest the ongoing biodiversity loss, it will accelerate extinctions.
"The current approach to biodiversity offsetting has led to broadscale habitat destruction and fragmentation, further reducing the safe movement of species through connected habitat to such an extent that species extinctions have been accelerated.
Gary Dunnett, CEO of the National Parks Association of NSW.
"Loss of habitat is the biggest threat to NSW's unique wildlife and habitats, and future generations. The Review of the Biodiversity Conservation Act's recommendations are an excellent starting point for nature law reform to reverse this loss and to create a Nature Positive future."
"To achieve Nature Positive, it is critical that the Act is tied to the global goal of halting the extinction crisis, along with implementing the 30x30 commitment to protect our planet. To curtail the extinction crisis, governments must follow best-practice conservation planning principles to ensure that 30% means 'highly protected areas', nature havens free from resource extraction."
Rebecca Keeble, Oceania Regional Director, International Fund for Animal Welfare:
"Australia not only holds the infamous title of having the world's worst mammal extinction rate and being the only developed nation in the top 10 global deforestation hotspots, we now run the risk of becoming the poster child for what not to do in the face of climate change.
We need to shake off these shameful labels and redeem ourselves on the world stage before it is too late."
Victoria Jack, NSW Campaigns Manager, the Wilderness Society:
Traditional Owners and Custodians, and communities across NSW, are fed up with the failure of governments to protect nature in this state. Locals working to save state forests from logging within the proposed boundary of the Great Koala National Park are just one of many possible examples. If the NSW Government is serious about addressing the community's demand to halt the biodiversity crisis, it must ensure the promised reforms are significant and swift enough to overcome the serious challenges we face.
