A community environmental group says its been forced to take stronger action to get more time save a piece of land in Manyana from being developed.
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With no indication from Ozy Homes that they are willing to further delay the start of work on a project on one of the few remaining unburt sections of bush in the Shoalhaven, Manyana Matters, this morning, decided to proceed with engaging the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) to act on its behalf.
The group instructed its EDO Lawyer to send the all relevant letters to The Hon Sussan Ley MP, Minister for the Environment and Mr Ghazi Sangari, Director, Ozy Homes.
"The EDO has informed us there is a strong chance this project may be in breach of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), given the presence of threatened species on the land slated for development," a spokesperson for Manyana Matters said.
"The EDO will call upon Minister Ley to invoke her powers under the Act to delay this project until a proper assessment can be completed."
The relevant letters includes submissions from Birdlife Shoalhaven and Professor David Lindenmayer.
Professor Lindenmayer is a professional forest ecologist with over 37 years experience and is one of world's most highly cited forest ecologist.
The ecologist is concerned that the clearing of the unburnt forest block at Manyana so soon after the recent intensive bushfires in the Shoalhaven will not only have direct consequences on the flora and fauna inhabiting this block but will also have negative effects on the nearby Conjola National Park.
He is particularly concerned about the fate of the Greater Gliders known to exist in the area and called for more time for assessments to take place.
"Based on the changed circumstances due to the large spatial scale of the recent fires and the extended time since the development assessment was made, I suggest that the two-week moratorium currently placed on clearing the site be extended to at least 12 months," he said.
"This would allow another assessment to be conducted which will better reflect the possible impacts of the development as it would occur today.
"These surveys should be conducted in multiple seasons to properly assess the site.
"This updated information could then be used to better determine the future of the site and the populations of the greater glider that occur in the area."
Birdlife Shoalhaven, given the habitat, ecology, threatened species, biodiversity and post-bushfire considerations, fully supports and recommends an intervention which would apply an extended moratorium on the continued development of the site with a view to developing alternate strategies.
This latest move follows a Zoom meeting held yesterday between all interested parties.
The meeting, chaired by Greens MLC, David Shoebridge, brought together representatives from the local community, developer Ozy Homes, NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes and representatives from Shoalhaven City Council, including Mayor Amanda Findley.
A follow-up meeting between senior NSW Government and Shoalhaven City Council representatives was expected to be announced.
