A conservation lobby group has pilloried a Nationals MP for threatening to quit the NSW government and move to the crossbench if new koala protection regulations are not altered, saying "the demise of the koala" would be expedited if he gets his way.
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Chris Gulaptis, the MP for Clarence, says he will move to the crossbench if the government doesn't review the Koala Habitat Protection State Environmental Planning Policy, which came into effect in March this year.
The policy simplifies the process by which koala habitats are recognised and protected and extends the number of protected tree species from 10 to up to 65.
Mr Gulaptis said in a statement on Wednesday the policy was ill-founded, harmed regional communities and "essentially determines every part of NSW is koala habitat".
He said he wanted a review of the Koala Habitat Protection SEPP which struck a better balance between conservation and commerce, or he would move to the crossbench.
"This is such a significant issue for (my) electorate I have to draw a line in the sand. I won't stand by and see regional communities and livelihoods decimated," Mr Gulaptis said.
Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh on Thursday made the same threat, telling Triple M Coffs Coast Radio a compromise was crucial on the number of SEPP-protected tree species.
But the Nature Conservation Council on Thursday said in a statement the SEPP needed to be strengthened, not diluted, after last season's unprecedented bushfires in NSW.
A NSW parliamentary inquiry found in July that koalas would lose their habitat and become extinct in NSW before 2050 unless the government urgently intervened.
It also found the current estimate of 36,000 koalas living in the NSW wild was outdated.
"If we want our children and grandchildren to see koalas in the wild, we have to stop destroying their forests," council chief executive Chris Gambian said in a statement.
"If Mr Gulaptis and (NSW deputy premier and Nationals leader) John Barilaro get their way, the demise of the koala is guaranteed to happen even faster than projected."
Farmers NSW President James Jackson said in a statement on Wednesday the policy was intended for the development of fringe-urban areas in Sydney and "would be unnecessary, completely unworkable and immensely costly on farms".
Mr Jackson argued the policy would impede growth in NSW food production.
Mr Gulaptis' remarks come as NSW koala experts implore federal environment minister Sussan Ley to block the expansion of the Brandy Hill Quarry at Port Macquarie, which would destroy 52 hectares of prime koala habitat and sever a koala corridor.
The project was approved by the NSW Independent Planning Commission in July.
Australian Associated Press
