The proposed sale of vast areas of crown land in western Sydney by the Government will see families and the environment suffer from the loss of green space, increased air pollution and the loss of biodiversity, said Greens Upper House MPs Sylvia Hale and Ian Cohen today.
“The Government has blatantly lied to the people of western Sydney, first promising massive parklands and now bowing to developer pressure. The lack of green space in western Sydney has always been an important issue. Growing numbers of young families in this area need the recreational space and amenity which these areas provide,” said Ms Hale, Greens MP and planning spokesperson.
“The huge amounts of development already planned for the south-west and north-west of Sydney are going ahead in an unsystematic and imprudent manner. Some of the land releases will go into areas with the worst air pollution in the Sydney basin. Now the Government is going to make this situation even worse by putting developers’ wishes over the needs of the people of Sydney,” Ms Hale said.
“These areas of urban bushland are the lungs of the city. There is no doubt that safeguards for air quality will be lost if this land is developed,” said Mr Cohen, Greens MP and environment spokesperson.
“Air quality in western Sydney will deteriorate over the next 20 years and this planned sale of public land will worsen it further, making families even more vulnerable to airborne pollutants.
“This move also shows the continued neglect by the Government of important flora and fauna. The Sydney basin has seen massive loss of biodiversity already. Once species are gone, they are gone forever,” Mr Cohen said.
“The Government tried to fill its budget hole by selling the Snowy Hydro, which saw a huge backlash from the public. But they obviously did not learn their lesson from that episode. Now they are trying to fill the budget deficit by selling off the public’s parklands. The Government will certainly feel the repercussions of such a move,” said Ms Hale.
No comments:
Post a Comment