Environmentalists are protesting at six offices of the Department of Lands around the State this morning against the sale and commercial development of Crown lands and the Department’s repeated failure to transfer high conservation value public lands to the National Parks estate.

The National Parks Association of NSW, Wilderness Society and Total Environment Centre have joined in the protest, claiming that there will be little effective protection for over a million hectares of vegetation on Crown leases of the Government pushes ahead with plans to sell-off the entire Crown lease estate.

Wilderness Society spokesperson, Reece Turner said “We have no confidence in the Department of Lands’ ability to protect these areas if they are privatised. We are talking about outstanding areas of conservation significance, including Identified Wilderness, old-growth forests, and extensive areas of poorly reserved woodlands.”

National Parks Association spokesperson, Georgina Woods, said, “This is not just about the Crown lease estate, the recent history of the Department of Lands is a catalogue of failures to protect the environment and act in the public interest.”

Total Environment Centre spokesperson, Dave Burgess said, “The Department of Lands is managing the Crown lands estate as if it is a private property portfolio, making money from it, selling it, preventing proper environmental protection and encouraging commercial development on Reserves and foreshore lands. We are here to tell them that it is not their land, it’s the public’s land, and they must manage it in the public interest.

Protestors from a variety of community groups have gathered in Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Taree, Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong, united in their frustration at the irresponsible environmental management by the Department of Lands.

“NSW urgently needs an inquiry into Crown land management to rein in the rogue Department of Lands. The Government must prevent the alienation of high conservation value areas and the enclosure of open space on Crown lands up and down the coast,” continued Ms. Woods.

“We are calling on the State Government to deliver on promises for strong and permanent protection for the forests, woodlands and wetlands on Crown lands in NSW and take control of the Department of Lands.”

National Bridlepath and Wildlife Corridor Association * Jetty Action Group * CROWN * Save Killalea Alliance * Hunter Community Environment Centre

Background and regional information

• Assessment processes for Crown lands across the state are arbitrary and piecemeal, and don’t recognise the outstanding conservation values of Crown leases.
• The Crown lease sell-off began in 2004 and the future of over a million hectares of potentially high conservation value land is now uncertain as a result. The leases are scattered all over the Eastern and Central parts of the State, and a map showing their location can be viewed at http://www.npansw.org.au/web/conservation/crown_land_selloff.htm#map
• The Department of Lands has stalled the transfer of 20,000 hectares of former Vacant Crown Land (now Crown Reserve) that were promised for inclusion in the National Park estate following the Regional Forest Agreement.
• The most high profile of these is Goolawah Reserve, near Kempsey, which contains littoral rainforest and which has now become a State Park – thus exposing the area to potential commercial development.
• The Minister for Lands has apparently consented to a lease allowing the development of three parcels of land in Killalea State Park, against the community’s wishes.
• In Coffs Harbour, the “Harbourside Project Concept Plan” was developed to include the sell off of the Jetty Oval and Englands Park Crown Reserves for development as residential apartments in order to pay for the further development of the harbour and foreshore. Both have high Heritage value as Aboriginal Resting Places, as sporting fields and as Public Open Space.
• In Port Macquarie, the Department of Lands is negotiating for commercial development to occur that would lock up important community open space on the foreshore adjacent to the river and ocean, against strong community opposition.
• In Ulladulla, another “concept plan” is currently on exhibition, proposing the extension to the southern breakwater of the harbour, the dredging of 200 floating berths to navigable depths. The possibility is raised that dredged material could be used to “reclaim” areas of the foreshore.
• The DOL is encouraging private commercial development of sensitive foreshore lands with little or no prior environmental assessment, locking up open space for commercial exploitation
• Further areas of high conservation value Crown Land areas have still not been transferred to National Parks in the Northeast, Brigalow Belt South and Nandewar bioregions despite promises to the contrary.
• Despite being completed five years ago, the recommended outcomes of the Goulburn Sub-region Comprehensive Regional Assessment including transfer of 12,551 ha of Crown land to the National Parks estate, have not been implemented.
• Crown Roads are being sold-off for short term profits that would better serve the public by the establishment, in perpetuity, of a network of bridlepaths and wildlife corridors for the benefit of native fauna and flora, horse riders, walkers, and non motorized cyclists.