[Greens-Media] (Hale MLC) ‘BioBanking’ kills biodiversity

[Colin Hesse]

Media release

>From Sylvia Hale, Greens MP and spokesperson for Planning

17 May 2010 - for immediate use
 
‘BioBanking’ kills biodiversity
 
The Greens have condemned the State Government’s BioBanking scheme as
a sham. Rather than protecting biodiversity, the process will actually
see a reduction in biodiversity.
 
“How can trashing the environment in one area be an acceptable way of
saving it in another?” asked Sylvia Hale, Greens MP and spokesperson
for Planning. 
 
“It is simply a nonsense to assert that saving a sensitive
environment in one place means that you have protected biodiversity.
 
“The effect of BioBanking will be that sensitive lands in desirable
locations will be lost forever, along with the rare plant and animal
species that exist only on those sites.
 
 “The policy is an open invitation to hungry developers to ply the
Government with money in order to pillage areas of the State that up
until now have been saved from development because of their unique
nature or the presence of rare or threatened species.
 
“The only beneficiaries of this policy are the property developers
who have given so much money to the State Labor Party, and who clearly
still exercise enormous influence over Government policy.
 
“As if Part 3A of the Planning Act were not enough, the community now
has to contend with this spurious BioBanking regime.
 
“One wonders how many more invitations to corrupt the planning system
and destroy the State’s natural environment the Government will be
able to devise.
 
“If a site is sensitive and has rare species, the Government should
buy the land outright or ensure it is zoned at the highest level
possible of environmental protection.
 
“As a society we have a much greater interest in ensuring the
long-term biodiversity of the planet than we do in supporting ruthless
development of sensitive environments.
 
“It is particularly appalling in 2010, the United Nations
International Year of Biodiversity, that the NSW Labor Government and
Environment Minister Sartor are finding new ways to trash our
environment.
 
“It is time the State Government re-focused on a planning system
where the environment, social equity and health are at the centre of the
decision making, rather than maintaining a system which is ad-hoc, open
to corruption and destructive of both our natural and built
environment.
 
“Finding new ways to spin environmental destruction is most certainly
not a step forward.
 
“One hundred and thirty species become extinct around the world each
day. This is a thousand times greater than the natural extinction rate.
Government should be leading the way in slowing this irreparable loss
not speeding it up,” said Ms Hale.
 
 
Contact: Colin Hesse on 9230 3030 or  0401 719 124