Residents concerned by the sale of the land and now a DA lodged with Port Stephens Council to build a single storey dual occupancy worth $600,000 at the Salamander Bay site will hold a protest rally on Sunday.

Kathy Brown, part of the residents group fighting the development, said the rally was a way to show the council and politicians that there are “a lot of people very concerned” about the looming destruction of the wetlands.

“Our greatest concern is the destruction of koala habitat,” Ms Brown said.

“We’re talking about building a koala hospital at One Mile, but destroying their habitat in the wetlands.

“Rescued koalas are released into the Mambo wetlands. We have pictured of koalas at the bus stop near [the development site].

“We definitely know koalas are in the area but there’s also goannas and echidnas.”

Ms Brown is also part of the Landcare group that has more than 20 years looked after the Mambo and Wanda wetlands reserves.

Fellow Landcare members Margaret Lamond and Robyn Williams are also part of the residents group opposed to the development, and are behind Sunday’s rally.

The rally is being supported by EcoNetwork Port Stephens, which is in the middle of a lengthy process to have Mambo included in the Ramsar listing of internationally valuable wetlands.

“We hope, like the community, that it will be kept as pristine bush because we know koalas go in and out of the wetlands regularly,” Nigel Dique from EcoNetwork Port Stephens said.

“We have been working towards having the wetlands listed as a Ramsar site. We want it preserved.”

In addition to being zoned E2 Environmental Conservation under the Port Stephens Local Environment Plan, areas of the reserve are further protected through the state government’s SEPP 14 Coastal Wetlands.

The Mambo wetlands is also in the Salamander Bay Sanctuary Zone of the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park.

Port Stephens MP Kate Washington said the land, formerly owned by the Department of Education and bought by developer Paul Unicomb for $250,000 in June 2016, was crucial to “ensuring the survival of koalas in our area”.

She said the DA would be open for public comment from Thursday to October 27.

“I encourage everyone who wants to see this environmentally-sensitive land protected to contact Port Stephens Council and make their own submissions about the use of this land,” she said.

“Concerned residents should also contact the Minister for the Environment, Gabrielle Upton, to urge her to do the right thing and buy back the core koala habitat they flogged off.”

The rally will be held on the corner of Foreshore Drive and Port Stephens Drive, Salamander Bay from 11am.

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