Hi all,

A bit of time between updates but all the official methods for public feedback have now been exhausted with the approval handed down on 3rd March 2022. I definitely had a lull in enthusiasm following the lacklustre response from the Minister and the Department at the time. 

Approximately 6 weeks after the approval, I received correspondence from the Department which basically said thanks for writing to us we have already approved it. I never received any correspondence from Minister Ley herself.

Analysis of the Environmental offset proposal demonstrates that there will be nearly 20% net loss of habitat in the Koala Priority Area in which the Quarry is located. Overall, there will be a net increase of merely 2% of Koala Habitat, with the vast majority located outside of Koala Priority Areas. Clearly indicating that Koalas do not have priority inside of Koala Priority Areas.

Furthermore, the offset plan was judged against a criteria for the Vulnerable Koala. When applying the additional requirements for the Endangered Koala, the offset plan barely meets 80% of the requirement. The expansion is not required until 2029, but in 2022 we used standards from 2012 to determine if the environmental requirements were met.

I will be writing a letter to the new Environment Minister requesting a thorough review of the decision making process, but I am doubtful anything can be done now. 

Our best option is to gather more support and try and hit the 25k supporters mark. Thankyou for your support so far, let's just keep plugging away.

Regards,
Brett