Save Sydney's Koalas!

Tell the Environment Minister to Save Sydney’s Koalas!

Dear Minister 
Congratulations on your appointment as Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Heritage and thank you for the commitments you have made to date to save koalas in this state from extinction. 
As you are aware, Sydney’s Campbelltown is home to one of the most critically important koala populations in NSW, one that is chlamydia-free and expanding. Unfortunately, the ongoing survival of this population cannot be guaranteed because of an imminent risk of more than 50 hectares of koala habitat between Georges and Nepean River being cleared for development.
The biodiversity certification for stage 2 of Lendlease’s Mt Gilead development has been signed off by Campbelltown City Council and is now with your department. However, the proposal for biodiversity certification is inconsistent with the Recommendations from the Chief Scientist’s report into Campbelltown’s Koalas regarding corridor width and underpasses.
Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, the Minister may decline to deal with an application for biodiversity certification or to confer biodiversity certification if the application has not been duly made, insufficient information has been provided or any other reason the Minister considers sufficient. 
From the NSW Upper House Inquiry into Koala Populations and their Habitat, which you were a member of, we know that koalas will be extinct in NSW before 2050 without urgent action, and that the biggest threat to their survival is the ongoing loss and fragmentation of koala habitat. 
The koalas in Sydney’s south-west are a prime example of the localised extinctions that will occur if we continue to allow poorly planned developments to clear koala habitat - localised extinctions that will ultimately lead to the extinction of all koalas in the wild in NSW if not prevented. 
Furthermore, your government has recently made statements about wanting to stop urban sprawl in western Sydney. We urge you to look no further for where to start. 
Minister, please do the right thing. Reject Lendlease’s biodiversity certificate for stage 2 of its Mt Gilead development and save Sydney’s Koalas!

Save Sydney's Koalas!

Mega-developer Lendlease wants to push forward with stage 2 of its Mt Gilead development in Sydney’s south-west. If it does, 53 hectares of critical habitat for at least 300 koalas will be bulldozed - and one of the healthiest koala colonies in NSW will face extinction.

Only Labor’s new Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has the power to stop this development in its tracks and save Sydney’s Koalas.

As one of the members of a powerful ParliamentaryInquiry into Koalas which made the damning finding that koalas will be extinct in NSW before 2050 without urgent action, the Minister knows what’s at stake.

Tell the Minister to stop this senseless destruction of Koala habitat and save Sydney’s koalas from extinction.

Save Sydney's Koalas!

Tell the Environment Minister to Save Sydney’s Koalas!

Save Sydney's Koalas!

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