Variation of a Management Plan must satisfy section 72 National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, in the same way as a new Management Plan.
In this case, Heritage NSW called for a significant variation to reintroduce aerial shooting. The call for Stakeholder Submissions was advertised on its website, and Heritage NSW called for Stakeholder Submissions to be made to their online portal on their website or posted to Heritage NSW no later than 11 September 2023.
Evidence has emerged proving that Reclaim Kosci and/or Invasive Species Council supplied a pro forma pre-typed form to employed people, which were then offered to pedestrians in the street, in supermarkets, in shopping centres to "get a signature" on the pre-typed form, simply to increase "numbers". Not Stakeholder Submissions.
The numbers of signatures were then entered into the Reclaim Kosci or ISC facebook page and ultimately submitted to Heritage NSW.
It is believed, the forms did not reach Heritage NSW until 2024 but then only when called for by Wes FanG during the Inquiry into aerial shooting. The Minister, Penny Sharpe, was unable to produce a USB stick. They were not provided to Mr Fang until 2024.
We believe the use of pretyped forms in this way, does not comply with s72 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act sufficiently, and is not within the intention of the Act, that strict protocols must be followed to vary a Management Plan, particularly when the variation is of a significant nature, such as the reintroduction of aerial shooting which had been banned for 20 years in the State of New South Wales on grounds of cruelty.
We call upon the State of New South Wales, Penny Sharpe and Heritage NSW to reject the 8,000 numbers from Reclaim Kosci and Invasive Species Council on grounds the numbers are questionable, open to fraud and in fact do not strictly comply with protocols set out within the Legislation.
We call upon Heritage NSW to reopen the Survey for Stakeholder Submissions to be made strictly in accordance with the requirements of Legislation to the address advertised by Heritage NSW and strictly within the time prescribed by Heritage NSW.