Land acquired for Georges River Koala National Park to protect south-west Sydney colony
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe announced on Wednesday that nearly 1,000 hectares of public land had been acquired between Long Point in Campbelltown and Appin in the Wollondilly Shire to establish the new Georges River Koala National Park, or Warranmadhaa.
The $48.2 million national park will form a protected wildlife corridor between the two regions.
In 2018, the Australia Labor Party initially promised a 4,000-hectare koala park along the Georges River if it won the election.
However, a 2023 election promise from the Minns Labor government said it would create a 1,800-hectare protected corridor for koalas in the region, one of Sydney's fastest-growing housing areas.
The national park forms part of the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan which aims to protect wildlife and habitat impacted by the planned delivery of more than 73,000 homes across four growth areas in Sydney's south and west.
Ms Sharpe said the park will be expanded to cover 1,800 hectares in time, and is one of several strategies included in the government's conservation plans for the colony.
"It's also about the construction of infrastructure, whether it's underpasses and fencing, and looking for opportunities to do other connections," she said.
Saul Deane from the Total Environment Centre, a not-for-profit conservation group, said the park has been highly anticipated but should have been delivered much sooner.
He said housing developments have already fragmented the endangered species' habitat.
"This needed to come first before development even started to occur in this area," he said.
"Fragmentation that is occurring across this area is already creating koala kills across roads and places we haven't seen before.
"Unfortunately, we keep seeing koala protections dragged into the background."
Koalas are endangered in multiple states and territories with habitat fragmentation considered a key threat to the iconic species.
A 2023 report by the Sydney Basin Koala Network and the Total Environment Centre using research conducted by Biolink's ecological consultants revealed an overall decrease in long-standing koala breeding populations between 2021 and 2023.
It also revealed the geographical extent of the koala population in Sydney declined by 35,857 hectares during that time.
"While this national park is huge for George's River it doesn't address koala conservation on the Nepean River and the need to secure the connection between the two," Mr Deane said.
Member for Campbelltown, Deputy Premier Greg Warren, has been a long-time advocate of a national park for koalas in the area and said he welcomed it as a strong step towards conservation.
"It's an exciting time and an exciting step, but we know we can't take our foot off the accelerator when it comes to prioritising environmental conservation and habitat conservation," Mr Warren said.
"I want to see as much national park as we possibly can."
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