Botany Bay and Catchment Alliance

 The NSW Government has announced final outcomes for the proposed proclamation of “Dharawal National Park”.  98.7% of the present conservation reserve will be National Park to the Centre of the Earth. Below is an extract from NSW Legislative Assemby Hansard 17 October 2011, where the Premier clarified the Government’s decision.

DHARAWAL NATIONAL PARK

Mr LEE EVANS: My question is addressed to the Premier. What progress has the Government made on the establishment of Dharawal National Park?

Mr BARRY O’FARRELL: I thank the member for Heathcote for his answer and long-term commitment to the State’s environment. I am delighted to inform the House that we have achieved a significant milestone in the creation of Dharawal National Park, which, hopefully, will see this new national park established by the end of the year. I am delighted that BHP Billiton has modified its planning application for the Bulli coal project to exclude the area of the proposed Dharawal National Park. The Government also has informed other holders of mineral and petroleum exploration interests in the area of its intention to create a national park in which mining activities will not be allowed to take place. This is a win-win situation: it is good for the environment and it is good for jobs. It will protect the current mining-associated jobs—mining activities cover 1.3 per cent of the State conservation area—while preserving the remaining 98.7 per cent forever as national park free from mining.

The national park will be established without any depth restrictions. This means no mining, no fracking and no coal seam gas extraction. The creation of Dharawal National Park will be a big win for the local community, which has fought for many years for the protection of the area. At the same time, jobs and investment in the Illawarra have been protected. This has been done at no cost to taxpayers and with no compensation and no deals. The national park will protect an iconic part of the Illawarra escarpment and preserve forever its extraordinary biodiversity, including endangered plants and animals, such as, Sydney’s largest surviving koala population—outside of the front bench opposite.

The SPEAKER: Order! Opposition members will come to order.

Mr BARRY O’FARRELL: I have been out there and walked this area, as has the Minister for Roads and Ports and the Minister for the Environment, who has done a terrific job on this initiative. I urge everyone to get out there and have a look at an incredible part of the natural environment of this city and State. Talking about people who have visited this area, one such person was that avid bushwalker and sometime State Premier Bob Carr, who did so in November 1993 when he was Leader of the Opposition. I just happen to have with me a copy of the Macarthur Advertiser, my usual bedside reading matter, which details that trip. It actually shows Bob Carr drinking—something that is not often seen. He is drinking from a pool of water at O’Hares Creek. Mr Carr said at the time, in the lead-up to the 1995 election when this area was fully located within the electorate of Camden:

The Dharawal National Park will be created in the first year of a Labor Government. This park is needed to protect the Georges River catchment from pollution.

Was it created in 1995, the first year of the Labor Government? No. Was it created in the first term of the Labor Government, which ended in 1999? No. For 16 years Labor failed to deliver on that promise.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Canterbury will come to order.

Mr BARRY O’FARRELL: We have done in six months what it failed to do in 16 years, that is, protect this critical area, which includes 2,000 upland swamps, rich in plant and animal life, that feed pristine water to O’Hares Creek, the headwaters of the Georges River—from which the former Premier drank. The area is home to 20 endangered or vulnerable animal species—and I am not talking about those opposite—such as koalas and eastern pygmy possums and three nationally significant plant species. The Dharawal also contains, as I have seen, significant Aboriginal cultural material, including sites as well as magnificent rock art. When this project is established the community will have improved visitor access so that they can enjoy the park’s most outstanding natural and cultural features, such as, natural swimming holes, waterfalls and stunning gorges. We have plans to declare this national park by the end of the year, which hopefully will allow families to enjoy this wonderful piece of Sydney and New South Wales during the summer holidays.”

BBaCA Comment: BBaCA congratulates the Premier, Minister for Environment and State Member for Oatley, Mark Coure for bringing a great National Park to Southern Sydney. 98.7% of the area will be to the Centre of the Earth. This means No Mining, No Longwalling, No Coal Seam Gas exploration, extraction or fracking. And there will be no compensation paid for mining leases and operations. What a great outcome.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 21st, 2011 at 1439 and is filed under Australian Flora, Environment, Georges River, Government, Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.