Save the Koalas of Sydney
Petitioner:
Mrs Diana Pryde
| Member:
Warren, Greg
| No. of Signatories:
20,977
| Date closed:
15/11/2022
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly,
Macarthur’s Campbelltown Koalas are uniquely Chlamydia free and the largest recovering Koala population in the Sydney Basin, indeed NSW. The NSW government must stop approving the loss of Koala habitat and corridors in Macarthur (Airds, Campbelltown, Appin and Wilton).
Gilead is the shortest wildlife corridor between the Georges and Nepean Rivers, providing an escape from fire and a pathway to recolonise habitat. Losing Gilead will fragment this local population and push this colony and NSW Koalas towards extinction.
NSW Planning must apply their own Koala protections (SEPP 44 - Campbelltown Koala Plan of Management - minimum 425m wide Koala corridors along creeks & rivers with Appin Road Koala crossings), rather than rely on ‘developer Koala reports’ to approve (rezone/bio-certify) as they have for Lendlease’s Gilead development, and are doing for Walker at Appin and SE Wilton.
The Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan must apply the Chief Scientist’s Campbelltown Koala Advice (2020) - min. 450m wide koala corridors, keep EPBC oversight of biobanks and set up an independent Koala Recovery Team to approve Koala management plans.
We ask the Legislative Assembly to:
1. Declare an Upper Georges River Koala National Park,
2. Stop the rezoning of Stage 2 of the Gilead development and review the approval of Stage 1 ,
3. Build five effective Koala crossings on Appin Road and
4. Implement minimum 450m wide Koala corridors across the rivers and creeks of Macarthur
