Do you care about our natural environment in the Lismore area? Lismore City Council recently drafted a much needed Biodiversity Management Plan to help protect our precious native biodiversity, but there will be no funding to implement this plan unless LCC's application for a special rate variation is approved by the Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal (IPART), who are currently taking submissions from the public. The proposed rate increase will be in the order of $48 extra per year for farmland, $30 for rural residential and $24 for urban/village. Surely our native vegetation and wildlife are worth this very modest price? LISMORE'S BIODIVERSITY NEEDS OUR SUPPORT!

We the undersigned are residents of the Lismore LGA and support Lismore City Council's application for a special rate variation of 1.8% to raise $500,000 p.a. for the implementation of the Biodiversity Management Strategy (BMS). The rate variation is justified because the BMS reflects the community's desire to protect our environment, as indicated by the recent " Imagine Lismore" community consultation project. The Lismore City Council area is part of the northeastern NSW biodiversity hotspot and supports many threatened species, therefore the BMS is needed to protect these species from further risk. Please approve the special rate variation request.