Forum message to Berejiklian: protect our natural heritage

The Berejiklian Government must work to overcome community cynicism about its plan for Western Sydney bushland in the face of major urban development.

That was the key message from Thursday night’s forum Last Chance for Western Sydney Bushland organised by the Total Environment Centre and attended by more than 150 residents as well as local councillors.

“Elements of the plan appear attractive but the use of offsets caused significant concern,’’ says Jeff Angel, the executive director of the Total Environment Centre.

Speaking after the forum at Wests Leagues club at Leunmeah, Mr Angel said there was deep community cynicism about the concept of offsets – ‘’whether these will be sufficient to guarantee the long term survival of species such as the koala and whether the current government can really guarantee that they will still be around in 20 or 30 years’ time.

“The NSW Department of Planning and Environment made no secret of the fact that the level of growth projected for Western Sydney in coming years could involve the significant loss of existing bushland.

“The department claimed that its plan to identify and protect strict like-for-like offsets and new conservation reserves in Western Sydney was the best way to ensure the survival of local wildlife.

“However, there has been no formal commitment so far by Planning Minister Anthony Roberts,’’ Mr Angel said.

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“The minister seems comfortable announcing housing targets but has been completely silent on his vision for the future of Western Sydney’s natural heritage.[/social_quote]

“If the State Government wants local communities to come on board with the level of development projected for Western Sydney, the minister needs to start working hard to overcome the community cynicism that was evident last night.

‘His first step should be to commit publically to the long term survival of Western Sydney’s threatened species,” Mr Angel said.