Western Sydney Conservation Alliance Inc

22nd September signs that Tony Burke is listening. WSCA had been lobbying Tony Burke for nearly two years to ensure guarantees in place that all of the promised $530 million conservation fund be spent within Western Sydney to protect bushland remnants promised as offsets.

Cautious optimism

On 22nd December, the Western Sydney Conservation Alliance (WSCA) cautiously welcomes the announcement today by Tony Burke that he will sign off on the Strategic Assessment of the Sydney Growth Centres. WSCA had been lobbying Tony Burke for nearly two years warning him not to rush in and sign off on the plan unless guarantees were in place to ensure that all of the promised $530 million conservation fund (the money promised to offset the destruction of 2000 ha of bushland within the growth centres) was spent entirely within Western Sydney protecting bushland remnants promised as offsets.

The NSW Government had been shifting towards raiding this $530 million conservation offset fund and spending up to 75% of it outside of Western Sydney in order to get more bang for its buck.

Tony Burke

"Tony Burke has listened to our concerns about this looming rip-off and has inserted new conditions into the plan guaranteeing that the entire $530 million fund would be spent in western Sydney. This may have saved thousands of hectares of rare bushland from the O'Farrell Government who intended to raid the $530 million conservation fund and spend it outside of western Sydney. The O'Farrell Government has a plan to increase urban sprawl in Western Sydney beyond development within the Growth Centres and that would have been made all the more easier if the majority of the $530 million fund disappeared from western Sydney.

Thanks to local Labor members

We specifically thank local Labor Members: Michelle Rowland, David Bradbury and Ed Husic for helping to stop this rip-off. They shared in our concerns about the inequity of the NSW Governments plans.

We believe the new conditions insisted upon by Tony Burke include that all the $530 million be spent in western Sydney and that only in exceptional circumstance could it be considered going off the Cumberland Plain to acquire offset lands. That exceptional circumstance would have to be approved by a new committee."

"That committee needs to be thoroughly transparent and it would be good if the community had a say in any decisions."

Growth Centers remain on-course for environmental disaster

"We must not lose sight though that the Sydney Growth Centres is an environmental disaster that will clear about 2000 ha of endangered woodland including about 9% of all remaining Cumberland Plain Woodland. So this announcement, whilst promising much in terms of a future conservation fund, also heralds the destruction of large areas of western Sydney's irreplaceable natural heritage"

Comments: Geoff Brown President WSCA - 0431 222602 www.wsca.org.au

Media Release
Western Sydney Conservation Alliance Inc

22nd December 2011

Growth Centres Plan go ahead by Tony Burke
Federal Government rescues bushland from O'Farrell Government

Robyn Parker the NSW Environment Minister was recently before a Parliamentary Committee on the Environment and asked questions by Labors Luke Foley about the Liberal Nationals reneging on an election commitment to conserve an additional 100 ha of the ADI Site.

Below is the link to the full committee transcript but also the specific ADI question extract. Blank spots have been explained in italics.

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/8394DDAF48498727CA25795A000AD302

The Hon. LUKE FOLEY: Will you honour the Liberals' and The Nationals' election commitment to conserve an extra 100 hectares of Cumberland Plain Woodland at the Australian Defence Industries [ADI] site in western Sydney?

Ms ROBYN PARKER: In terms of western Sydney we are doing a great deal in protecting some of the Cumberland Plain Woodland. The Wianamatta State conservation area has just been announced recently by our Government. That is a large section of Cumberland Plain Woodland which has been made into a protected area. I have been out there and had a look at that and made sure that we have got the strongest protections in place as a nature reserve.

The Minister is referring to the 181ha Air Services Australia site at Cranebrook saved by a campaign by WSCA. The Minister makes several mistakes in this answer. She incorrectly refers to the Cranebrook land as the Wianamatta State conservation area - when she recently visited the site to announce it would become the Wianamatta Nature Reserve - and secondly there is no Cumberland Plain Woodland on this site at all.

So the Minister has completely failed to answer the question and demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge about the NSW reserve system and its vegetation communities

The Hon. LUKE FOLEY: What about the 100 hectares you promised in the campaign to protect? Are you going to honour that?

Ms ROBYN PARKER: Most definitely in terms of western Sydney we have got a number of commitments in terms of Cumberland Plain Woodland and on the ADI site. Following extensive environmental studies it was zoned to enable a mix of conservation and development outcomes. The majority of the habitat on the ADI site is to be conserved in a regional park. That is about 900 hectares. The regional park will contain the highest quality remnant native vegetation which is the Cumberland Plain Woodland. We are focusing at the moment on finalising the plan of management for Wianamatta Regional Park. In terms of the ongoing commitment to conserve a further 100 hectares of Cumberland Plain Woodland, the regional environmental plan identifies that 900 hectares and that overall offset was agreed to prior to the land plan?

Again the Minister dodges the question about the additional 100 hectare commitment and is obviously reading from a bureaucrat prepared backgrounder about the planning history for the site that zones 900 ha of the site as Regional Park. Whilst there is a 900ha Regional Park proposed at ADI only about half of it is mapped as Cumberland Plain Woodland

The Hon. LUKE FOLEY: That is a different area. I am asking you whether you are going to honour?

Ms CORBYN: My understanding is we are actually progressing at Shanes Park, which is where the 100 hectares was identified. So we are actually progressing that, yes.

Lisa Corbyn is the Executive Officer of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Lisa Corbyn demonstrates her complete ignorance of this matter by making the false claim that the 100 ha commitment was identified for the 558 ha Air Services Australia site at Shanes Park - which the NSW Government is seeking to have transferred to them by the Federal Government. Ms Corbyn has misled the committee as the 100 ha commitment was made in regards to conserving an area of the Western Precinct within the former ADI Site at the Northern Rd Penrith.

So in summary the Minister and her senior staff have not answered any of the questions asked and their responses have again demonstrated why the environment of NSW, and specifically that of western Sydney, is poorly served by Minister Parker and her senior staff.

Source:
Geoff Brown
President
Western Sydney Conservation Alliance Inc, 12 December 2011