Matt Kean the New South Wales environment is complaining about a decision made at the federal level by his counterpart. What is stupid about this, is that his state department recommended environmental approval for the project.
The project in question will destroy around 52 hectares of prime koala habitat, in order to expand a quarry.
This appears to be a typical attempt to shift blame, as a grass roots campaign has become high profile, and is likely to hit politicians that it touches, making reelection harder.
This is a clear case of a politician wanting credit in both directions on a decision. Kean has stated he wishes to double koala numbers in the state by 2050, while changing state policies which have lead to increased land clearance and more logging, reducing habitat.
In theory, 74 hectares of suitable habitat within the quarry will be created before the destruction, leading to an increase rather than a decrease in koala space to live. However, it has been pointed out that if the land is cleared now the new woodland habitat will take many years to grow to maturity, so for the next 2-3 decades it is a significant loss. Koalas are endangered now, making habitat for them to live in, in the future is fine, but enough need to survive for this to be possible.
It would seem that there has been a failing at a local and a national governmental level, and this needs to be corrected immediately. New South Wales recently released a report, which stated clearly that Koalas will disappear from the state by 2050 if habitat is not protected. Clearly much more light must be shone on the behavior of this group of people
