The Southern Highlands is home to 40 threatened or endangered native plant species and 42 threatened or endangered native animal species.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It is a message the Greens are eager to share with residents of the Southern Highlands as National Threatened Species Day is commemorated across the country today (September 7).
Greens spokesperson Sarah Cains said that across NSW alone there were close to 1000 species falling into the threatened species category.
READ MORE:
"Our district was and is still home to a dizzying array of wonderful life forms including iconic fauna such as koala, platypus, wombats, owls and frogs," she said.
"Ask a Wingecarribee resident what they love about our district and likely they'll tell you it's the environment they value most highly, but over years we have dramatically altered this local environment.
"Though few of us know it, we are, or should be, home to 10 per cent (confirmed by WSC 2017) of the NSW koala population. Alarmingly, there are no effective NSW State Government laws in place to protect these animals."
Ms Cains said that due to current sightings of live koalas in vital but vulnerable wildlife corridors that run through local bushland, there was a compelling conversation underway about how to protect koalas.
She raised concern about Development Applications that "hover over the land where they live."
"Greens MP Cate Faehrmann is leading the fight to save koalas from extinction in NSW. Our state government koala laws, as written in the new SEPP (Koala Habitat Protection) 2021, are toothless and provide no protection," Ms Cains said.
"Her office explains that the SEPP is a disaster for koalas because it fails to protect the majority of koala habitat in NSW from logging and land clearing. Almost two-thirds of koala habitat is found outside national parks and state forests, on private land, so it's vital that laws are in place to protect this habitat if we are to stop koalas becoming extinct before 2050."
Ms Cain said it was clear that there was also a need for local government incentives for private land holders to preserve habitat undisturbed, and more stringent environmental assessments attached to Development Applications.
"Now is the time for an urgent re-think about accommodating flora and fauna displaced by human activities," she said.
"It's time for fast, courageous action; time to re-evaluate our relationship with our soils, our native plant communities, our life-giving waterways and the creatures sustained within these systems.
"The things we love about the Southern Highlands are vanishing with such horrifying speed that it is incumbent upon each and every one of us to become active in protecting what we still have; to join a group action and take personal responsibility for helping to turn the ship around.
"Just as precious wild lives depend on healthy natural systems, so do our human lives."
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
