Threatened flora and fauna in New South Wales are losing the battle to survive, thanks to the pro-development bias of the State Government, said Ian Cohen, NSW Greens Upper House MP.
“Tomorrow is National Threatened Species Day, which is held on September 7 each year to encourage the community to help conserve Australia's unique native fauna and flora,” Mr Cohen said.
“More than 80 species of native plants and animals have recently become extinct in NSW and around 1000 more are threatened with extinction. NSW has one of the highest records of mammal extinction in the world.
“The State Government should be ashamed of these figures, yet they continue to facilitate the loss of habitat for threatened species.
“The NSW Department of Environment and Conservation’s draft Threatened Species Priority Action Statement has been on display since May, but it appears that far too little funding has been allocated to help recover the 1000 threatened species, populations and communities that are listed.
“The Statement also shows that only 124 recovery plans are being prepared, instead of at least 900 that are needed.
“Biobanking legislation proposed by Government is another bad news story for threatened species. Under the new laws, developers would be allowed to bypass existing threatened species survey and environmental impact assessment procedures behind closed doors.
“Areas of bushland that already have high conservation values and legal obligations would be used to offset land for development. There is no permanent protection for these areas under the scheme.
“The New South Wales Government should come to the party and give our threatened species the protection they deserve,” he said.
Further Information: Claire O’Rourke 0409 810 139 or 9230 3305
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