“There is no way that the government was not aware of the critical nature of the habitat,” she said. “Our community did all that it could possibly do, to show the government that its decision to sell the land, was not right.”

The Examiner last week revealed that PBU Investments had made the winning $250,000 bid on the land. The Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald then admitted, in an exclusive interview, that the sale was a mistake. 

The Greens now want urgent reforms to the Crown Lands Act to require public ecological assessments before public lands can be sold.

“The sale of part of the Mambo Wetlands is evidence of system failure,” Greens MP and planning spokesperson David Shoebridge said.

“It should not be up to the community to run campaigns to save land that so obviously should be protected for its biodiversity value.”

Mr Shoebridge said the sale of any publicly owned land should only follow appropriate consultation with key agencies like OEH, but also with the community to produce a comprehensive understanding of the land’s ecological, social or other value.

“We have Crown land reforms coming through in NSW and we will be working to ensure comprehensive assessment and consultation is front and centre,” he said.

Meanwhile, the local community has not given up on saving the Mambo wetlands.

Robyn Williams of Port Stephens Greens said: “We call on the state government and Port Stephens Council to ensure that the Mambo Wetlands land is permanently protected from development.

“Preservation of the remaining areas of prime habitat and connecting green corridors is an essential part protecting the Port Stephens koala population, and this reserve is an important part of that,” Ms Williams said.