Campbelltown is fortunate to be home to a healthy, free living koala population and council is determined to keep it that way.
Councillors have approved a koala plan of management for the entire Campbelltown area, which aims to protect and indeed restore the tourist icon’s natural habitat.
The plan has now gone on exhibition to give local residents the chance to comment on it before it is bedded down permanently.
The three stated aims of the plan are:
To enable persistence to the maximum extent possible of a koala population of at least 300 koalas over the life of the plan;
support the harmonious co-existence of the community and koalas;
provide sustainable ways to safeguard the future of the Campbelltown koala population.
There was no debate when the plan went before the council meeting last week so it was automatically given the green light to go on exhibition.
A report to council said that koalas are classified as a vulnerable species under both the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act and the Commonwealth Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act.
In recognition of the fact Campbelltown is a home for koalas, the town was nominated under the NSW Recovery Plan for the Koala as a priority area for the preparation of a comprehensive koala plan of management.
The NSW legislation requires council, as the relevant public authority, to prepare a plan in accordance with the provisions of State Environmental Planning Policy 44 – Koala Habitat Protection, also known as SEPP44.
SEPP 44 aims to encourage the proper conservation and management of areas of natural vegetation that provide habitat for koalas to ensure a permanent free-living population over their present range and reverse the current trend of koala population decline by:
requiring the preparation of plans of management before development consent can be granted in relation to areas of core koala habitat;
encouraging the identification of areas of core koala habitat;
encouraging the inclusion of areas of core koala habitat in environment protection zones.
Given the implications of the plan to the wider community and future potential development in the area, it was considered appropriate to undertake consultation with the community and key stakeholders including relevant government agencies, the report said.
As a result the draft plan of management will be on public exhibition for 30 days at a number of locations, including the Council Civic Centre, libraries and on council’s website here.
