[Greens-Media] FW: MEDA RELEASE: Greens Ramp Up Pressure on State Government to save Ballina koalas at risk from misguided Pacific Highway Upgrade (Greens NSW) Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC

[Mehreen Faruqi]

MEDIA RELEASE
26-2-2014
Greens Ramp Up Pressure on State Government to save Ballina koalas at risk from misguided Pacific Highway Upgrade.

Greens NSW Roads Spokesperson and Environment Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC, has upped the pressure on the state government and called on the Roads Minister to front up to the Ballina community to explain why the State Government plans to build a road through crucial koala habitat. Dr Faruqi presented at a community forum in Ballina last week, alongside ecologists and legal experts. Greens Ballina Councillor, Clr Jeff Johnson, who has been spearheading the campaign locally, has called on the minister to listen to the science of the Ballina koala study.

"Last week I spoke to more than a hundred people at a packed community meeting in Ballina and the community spoke with one voice that the proposed route must be altered to protect vulnerable koalas and potoroos.

"I have been working with the community, animal welfare groups and local Greens councillor Jeff Johnson to get this issue on the agenda of the state government.

"Given the seriousness of the proposal to build the Pacific Highway straight through nationally significant koala populations, the Roads Minister must go to Ballina and announce that one of the other routes that doesn't impact on the koalas will be chosen.

"The community knows full well that this high risk project was approved by the former ALP government in 2005. Both parties must commit to protecting precious biodiversity.

"This is a high risk plan that endangers our iconic North Coast koalas. The good news is that there are other routes that do not impact the koala population. The minister can deliver both an upgraded and safer Pacific Highway and protect our North Coast koalas.

Clr Jeff Johnson said:

"The Ballina Koala Study is a game changer, it shows that we have a nationally significant Koala population that should be protected by the EPBC Act. This law was put in place for precisely this reason, to protect important environmental areas.

"The Federal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt should move to protect the Blackwall Range and the many threatened species that call it home. It's obvious that the NSW government has chosen this route to access cheap fill. Our Koalas are worth more than that", said Cr Jeff Johnson.

'If the highway bisects this nationally significant Koala habitat it could spell the end for Ballina's Koalas", he stated.

Dr Mehreen Faruqi is a Greens MP and the spokesperson for Roads as well as the environment. She is Civil and Environmental engineer and a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Environmental Studies UNSW.

Clr Jeff Johnson's petition can be found here: http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/save-ballina-s-koala-s
Dr Faruqi's online resource to email relevant politicians can be found here:https://mehreenfaruqi.good.do/koalas

Media Contact: Matt Hilton 0423-106-247



Matt Hilton
Legislative, Policy and Media Adviser

Office of Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC
Legislative Council | NSW Parliament
E: matthew.hilton at parliament.nsw.gov.au<mailto:matthew.hilton at parliament.nsw.gov.au>
P: (02) 9230 2625 | M: +61423106247|F: facebook.com/mehreenfaruqi | T: @MehreenFaruqi | W: mehreenfaruqi.org.au
Mail: Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

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