Media release – NSW Nationals, 10 Sep, 2020
NSW Nationals Media Statement on Koala SEPP
The NSW Nationals party room has today agreed the party will no longer attend joint party room or parliamentary leadership meetings and until this matter is resolved, will abstain from voting on government bills but reserves the right to support bills and motions that are important to regional NSW.
This effectively puts the entire party on the crossbench.
On Tuesday the NSW Nationals will introduce a bill to the Legislative Assembly to repeal the State Environmental Planning Policy Koala Habitat Protection.
The National Party wants to see a thriving koala population in NSW, even a doubling of the population, but this SEPP does not achieve this. It is a blunt instrument to make city-centric law makers feel good about themselves.
For six months the NSW Nationals have sought to work collaboratively with the Liberal Party to ensure the State Environmental Planning Policy Koala Habitat Protection, which has replaced the Koala Habitat Protection (SEPP44), does not take away farmers’ property rights.
The National Party brought forward a number of constructive and reasonable proposals but unfortunately the response from the Liberal Party suggests a lack of urgency and unwillingness to give ground on any substantive matters that greatly affect our regional communities.
Our proposed changes include:
- Ensure the definition of ‘core’ koala habitats includes thresholds for koala presence, verified records and highly suitable koala habitat.
- Include only high use and significant use koala tree species consistent with the Koala Habitat Information Base Technical Guide.
- Increase the number of core koala trees species from 10 to 39.
- A clear and reasonable definition of highly suitable koala habitat. The old SEPP required a 30 per cent threshold of tree species, the new SEPP proposes 15 per cent and the Nationals propose a 30 per cent threshold based on the increase of tree species.
- The decoupling of Private Native Forestry from the Koala SEPP.
- Rural regulated land and agricultural production should come under the land management framework, operating outside of the SEPP.
- Local councils must be required to undertake on-ground surveys in areas of proposed core koala habitat on private land.
- The costs of survey work must be borne by local councils, including costs associated with an independent survey commissioned by a landholder.
- Councils must be required to amend areas of core koala habitat based on landholder surveys provided these are consistent with methods in the Guidelines.
- The survey methods must be the same for landholders and Councils and be clearly set out in the Guidelines.
We must protect property rights, traditional farming practices, private native forestry and the ability for landholders to conduct minor developmental changes without being mired in layers of green tape.
Our proposed changes will support koalas, but the SEPP in its current form will not support our farmers.
News – The Guardian, 10 September 2020
Gladys Berejiklian gives NSW Nationals deadline to reverse threat to sit on crossbench
The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has given her deputy, John Barilaro, until Friday morning to reverse his threat to have the Nationals sit on the crossbenches or he and his fellow Nationals ministers will be stripped of their portfolios.
The crisis in the Coalition has been prompted by National party demands over koala policy which passed through cabinet and became law earlier this year but which the Nationals now want to be changed.
“It is my strong preference that existing Coalition arrangements stay in place,” Berejiklian said on Thursday afternoon.
“However, I have just made it clear to the deputy premier that he and his Nationals colleagues who are members of the NSW cabinet have until 9am Friday 11 September to indicate to me whether they wish to remain in my cabinet or else sit on the crossbench. They cannot do both.
“If required, I will attend Government House tomorrow and swear in a new ministry.”
Media release – North-East Forests Alliance, 10 September 2020
Call to protect core koala habitat from logging
The North East Forest Alliance is calling on people who want core Koala habitat to be identified and protected from logging to contact the Liberal Party and encourage them to resist National Party bullying.
The Koala State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP) was introduced by the coalition in 1995, with the then National Party member for Ballina, Don Page, claiming credit for it, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.
“The SEPP basically requires the preparation of Koala Plans of Management (KPoM) that identify core Koala habitat. These are required to be prepared for individual Development Applications over core Koala habitat, though the emphasis is on Councils preparing shire wide Koala plans.
“Where Councils identify core Koala habitat it is identified as Sensitive Regulated Land and therefore can’t be cleared under an exemption, and is excluded from logging under the Private Native Forest logging codes.
“This has been intended since the first 1994 Koala SEPP, yet the Koala inquiry identified that over the last 25 years only 6 comprehensive KPoMs have been approved, and these are mostly just for parts of Local Government Areas, and mostly don’t identify core Koala habitat.
“The bipartisan Koala Inquiry found that the regulatory framework for private native forestry does not protect koala habitat with the theoretical protections for koalas ‘weakened substantially, or indeed non-existent, when practically applied’.
“In 2019 the Coalition adopted a revamped Koala SEPP that tries to make the process for identifying core Koala habitat workable.
“Since then Timber NSW have been worried that if Councils identify core Koala habitat then they won’t be able to log it, and have been targeting the National Party in a campaign to overturn the SEPP.
“The current threat by the National Party to resign from the Coalition is all about trying to make the identification of core Koala habitat unworkable so that it can continue to be logged and cleared.
“Koalas had declined by over 50% on the north coast since the Koala SEPP was first introduced 26 years ago, then in 2019/20 30% of their high quality habitat was burnt, with losses of 44-100% of Koalas from firegrounds. Since 2015 clearing of native vegetation has doubled, with no consideration of Koalas.
“Wild Koalas will likely go extinct in NSW by 2050 if the National Party continue like this.
“NEFA are asking people to email or phone the offices of Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Planning Minister Rob Stokes and Environment Minister Matt Kean to thank them for helping protect Koalas against National Party bullying. Encourage them to provide support to Councils to complete the mapping of core Koala habitat across NSW within 5 years.
“NEFA are also asking people to email or phone the offices of north coast National Party representatives to protest their attempts to remove protections for Koalas, such as Geoff Provest (Tweed), Chris Gulaptis (Clarence), Gurmesh Singh (Coffs Harbour), Leslie Williams (Port Macquarie), Melinda Pavey (Oxley), Stephen Bromhead (Myall Lakes) and Upper House representative Ben Franklin.
“We need to show that the community supports Koala protection” Mr. Pugh said.
Parliamentary contacts are at:
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/Pages/all-members.aspx
Statement – Jodi McKay, NSW Labor Leader, 11 September 2020
John Barilaro has taken the government to the brink, then capitulated. He has been humiliated. His behaviour is completely unacceptable in a time of pandemic and economic crisis. His position as NSW Deputy Premier is untenable.
This is not a victory for Gladys Berejiklian because she should have dealt with this issue earlier.
Gladys Berejiklian leads a dysfunctional, unstable government. While nobody deserves such disloyalty from John Barilaro, this crisis confirms her weakness. The Deputy Premier has threatened to resign so often – and the Premier has consistently failed to manage him.
The Premier has to ensure that John Barilaro is gone as Deputy Premier – otherwise he will continue to cripple the NSW government.
On behalf of NSW Labor and millions of people across our state who are disgusted by what we have seen, I will move a Motion of No Confidence in the Berejiklian government in Parliament next week.
