The NSW’s Liberal Party has failed to protect NSW’s natural environment.
The NSW Liberal Party have allowed the deliberate and systematic undermining of our environmental laws.
This began when the NSW Liberal Party pushed through its Biodiversity Conservation Act in 2016. These ‘reforms’ accelerated land clearing of millions of hectares of native vegetation on private land pushing wildlife to the brink of extinction. More than 1000 plant and animals species face extinction in NSW including the koala. Instead of actively protecting the environment the Liberal Party has actively undermined it. This biodiversity loss has been severely exacerbated since the Black Summer Bushfires where more than a million wildlife died, and has been followed by Biblical floods from Lismore to south western NSW.
Land clearing and habitat loss is the single biggest cause of species loss in NSW. Protecting habitat and controlling land clearing is essential if further plant and animal extinctions are to be avoided.
A new NSW Government needs to urgently strengthen its environment laws to ensure they address the crisis of climate change and biodiversity extinction.
We need:
- stronger laws need to end native forest logging of koala habitat, end land clearing, deforestation and habitat loss.
- Stronger laws to protect threatened species.
- Stronger laws to end weeds and feral pest and investment in regenerating degraded landscapes.
- more protected areas such as the Great Koala Park on the mid North Coast
- more resources for a strong, conservation focused NPWS that includes the appointment of more indigenous rangers; and ends the commercialisation of our national parks
- commitment to protecting World Heritage Areas in NSW and nominating new areas. We must not raise the Warragamba Dam wall.
- to end new unconventional fracking for gas and new coal mines ie Narrabri/ Pilliga and potential revisit of gas exploration off east coast; The Drip - coal expansion
- to end the fraudulent biodiversity offsets
- to protect our marine environment with a Sydney Marine Park
- to protect Koala habitat lands
- end plastic pollution with reductions in plastic packaging, more recycling and container deposit schemes
- land clearing for housing on critically endangered land eg Blue Gum Forest at Castle Hill
- Protecting Sydney’s urban natural areas and public spaces
- An NSW Environmental Protection Agency that fulfils its responsibility for protecting NSW’s environment and taking meaningful action on green house pollution
Janine's environmental experience in NSW
Janine has been a former:
- president of the David G. Memorial Wild Life Research Foundation of Australia that managed the flora and fauna sanctuary Wirrimbirra at Bargo
- Vice President of the National Parks Association of NSW
- Deputy Chair of the Colong Foundation for Wilderness
- We need stronger environmental protection laws to protect Davidson
- The NSW Government has failed to protect Davidson as an environmentally sensitive electorate that needs stronger protection for it with its BGHF, STIFF, Duffy’s Forest endangered wildlife (Powerful Owl, Pygmy Possum, Flying Foxes) and its three National Parks - Garigal, Lane Cove, Ku-ring-gai as well as Crown Land bushland. Its 10/50 tree clearing laws removed many trees from Davidson.
- That the NSW Government recognise Davidson as an electorate of environmentally sensitive areas that needs stronger protection for it with its endangered Ble Gum High Forest, Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest, Duffys Forest that is core habitat for endangered speices such as the Powerful Owl, Pygmy Possum,
- Needs to provide more on the ground staff for its three National Parks
- Recognise the contribution that Davidson’s environmental assets provide for Greater Sydney - that interconnects with Middle Harbour and Lane Cove flowing into Sydney Harbour; Davidson’s cooling tree canopy is vital to keep our cities cooler as summer heats up.
- We need to restore Davidson’s tree canopy
Janine's environmental experience in Davidson
Janine has been a former:
- councillor on Ku-ring-gai Council
- Committee member of the Blue Gum High Forest Group
- Vice-President of Friends of Ku-ring-gai Environment (FOKE)