Our unique and beautiful natural heritage in NSW is in crisis. Without urgent action, many our species of native wildlife, including the iconic koala, will become extinct within our lifetime.
Without adopting new, sensitive approaches to land management, our farmers will find it harder than ever to provide food and fibre sustainably in the face of a hotter, drier climate.
Before the election, Premier Mike Baird committed to “enhancing the state’s biodiversity to benefit current and future generations”, but he is now caving into pressure from developers and a minority of landholders who want to weaken our nature protection laws.
The petition of certain citizens of NSW brings to the attention of the House key features that must form part of an effective Biodiversity Conservation Bill.
We call on Premier Baird to stand with the NSW community to safeguard our future by ensuring the Bill and associated measures:
- Create conditions that protect and enhance the health and variety of our wildlife, our pure water supplies, healthy soils, and productive farmlands
- Rule out a return to broad scale land clearing
- Rule out the clearing of bushland that is critical as habitat for threatened wildlife
- Pay “cash for conservation” to support farmers who protect wildlife, healthy soils and pure water supplies
- Rule out offset schemes that allow developers to destroy wildlife habitat in exchange for cash or dissimilar types of habitat
- Use tree-clearing controls to maximize the amount of carbon pollution captured and retained by native bushland, and
- Require comprehensive mapping of the state’s 1500 vegetation communities so we know exactly where they are and can protect them properly.
