Public Forum Presentation re: Agenda item GMR22/026 Policy Review for Exhibition- March 2022
Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to address Council and the community regarding Agenda item GMR22/026 Policy Review for Exhibition- March 2022.
My presentation relates specifically to the draft Policy for Conservation of the Yellow-bellied Glider in the Broulee Area.
I am a biologist with over 20 years experience in state and federal government working in the area of threatened species conservation. In this role I have worked with councils across the Sydney metropolitan area and in regional NSW on policy and planning matters relating to the protection and recovery of threatened species.
A policy, as I understand it, is a set of principles that is used as the basis for making decisions and taking action. It needs to be based on the current legislative framework and take account of the existing context in which it will operate. The Policy for Conservation of the Yellow-bellied Glider in the Broulee Area does neither.
The agenda papers state that ‘this policy has been reviewed and no substantive changes are recommended at this time, apart from minor referencing updates.’
The draft policy remains essentially unchanged from the version of the policy approved by Council on 27 June 2017 (which is not listed in the change history table at the end of the policy). Since then the Eurobodalla, and the Broulee area in particular, has been badly impacted by the disastrous Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 which decimated some 80% of the forested areas in our shire. Much of this was habitat for the Yellow-bellied Glider, which has subsequently been listed as vulnerable to extinction by the Commonwealth government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. This is not even acknowledged in the draft policy.
The draft policy and the associated outdated 2009 Code of Practice urgently need to be reviewed and expanded to take account of this loss of habitat, as well as the likely impacts on the Eurobodalla Yellow-bellied Glider population. This would include a review of the minimum standards for development or activities that lead to clearing of land supporting suitable habitat for this species and, in particular, clause 9 of the Code of Practice which waters down the protections offered by these minimum standards. It is likely that post the Black Summer bushfires, these minimum standards alone will not be sufficient to avoid a significant impact on the Yellow-bellied Glider from development or other activities that result in the clearing or modification of their habitat.
The draft policy states ‘in the absence of a Shire wide policy for the conservation of the Yellow-bellied Glider on the coastal plains of the Eurobodalla, this policy will be utilised by Council officers to assist in assessing development applications and proposed activities for land on the coastal plains of Eurobodalla Shire…’. However, given the impacts of the Black Summer bushfires on the Yellow-bellied Glider and its habitat, we need a revised and extended ‘best practice’ conservation policy that covers the whole shire. Importantly, this revised policy and the associated Code of Practice should be informed by experts in the field and applied by staff with biodiversity qualifications and experience to ensure the long term persistence of the Yellow-bellied Glider, not only within the Broulee area, but across the shire. It should also take into account any requirements under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Consequently, I would urge all councillors to vote to delay the public exhibition of the draft Policy for Conservation of the Yellow-bellied Glider in the Broulee Area until it has been reviewed and updated to reflect current circumstances.
Thank you
Deborah Stevenson
