NSW government to set up new national park as it
looks to balance koala protections with urban
sprawlABC Illawarra
By Tim Fernandez and Myles Houlbrook-Walk
Posted Fri 22 Sep 2023

Photo supplied: Pat Durman

The NSW government has funded a national park south-west of Sydney to bolster
protections for one of the state's last healthy koala colonies under threat from urban
sprawl.The state government will spend $80 million on koala protections, including $43
million from the latest budget, to establish the Georges River Koala National Park.
The national park, which Labor committed to before the state elections, will cover 1,830
hectares along the Georges River, including 1,000 hectares of public land. Three koala
crossings in the area, including two at the site of repeated koala fatalities, have also
been earmarked at a cost of $26 million.
The park will run through the suburbs of Gilead and Appin, where developers areseeking approval to build more than 16,000 homes.
The region is home to a growing number of koalas, believed to be the only group in thestate not to be afflicted by chlamydia.
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the government is facing pressure toincrease housing supply while protecting koala habitat. "I am working closely with theplanning minister, he has got a big job to do, and the government is committed togetting housing into the ground," said Ms Sharpe.
"But we need to make sure we are balancing the importance of looking after koalas aswell, and we think we can do both."
Review of environment laws
Koalas are endangered in multiple states and territories including NSW, with habitat
fragmentation one of the key threats to the iconic species.
Last year, the previous government released the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan(CPCP) as a framework to allow developers to continue building on Sydney's fringe,
while ensuring the protection of the environment.

Ms Sharpe said she is reviewing whether the plan is delivering the biodiversity outcomesit promised. "The previous government left us with a very complicated plan, that is very
hard to ensure that it is doing everything it can," she said.
"We are looking very closely at it to see if we can make improvements to it."
The Environment Minister will also be reviewing plans to build 3,300 homes at Gilead, on
a sensitive parcel of land that includes corridors for koalas to travel between the Georgesand Nepean rivers.The proponent of the development, Lendlease, claims the estate willmeet the NSW Chief Scientist's advice about koala protections, but environment groups
and investors are worried about lack of detail regarding the width of koala corridors.
In April, Campbelltown Council referred the project to the NSW Department of Planningand Environment (DPIE) for bio-certification.
Ms Sharpe said she would review her department's advice closely once it is on her desk.
“My priority as the Environment Minister is to protect corridors where we can, and that issomething we need to work through," she said.
"The pressures around the Gilead development and the CPCP are things that we arelooking at and we just have to work through methodically."
Former planning boss joins developer
The NSW Planning Department is also reviewing the involvement of the former
Secretary Michael Cassel in the approval of the Appin development rezoning, after hejoined the project's developer Walker Corporation shortly after resigning.
Ms Sharpe said the government has a responsibility to ensure the planning process isbeyond reproach.
"We need to make sure that our planning processes has integrity and I know that thePlanning Minister is very focused on that," she said.
"We need to make sure that any of the decisions government makes are done in thepublic interest, and that is what this government is focused on."