UDIA NSW appreciates that there are many sensitivities about the status of koalas, which have been heightened following the recent bushfires. We believe that there should be a concerted effort to preserve habitat for koalas. This habitat preservation should be in locations where koalas have been observed/proven to reside, and in locations with trees which koalas actually feed upon (feed-trees).
The Koala Habitat Protection SEPP applies to development applications. At the February workshop we understood that the SEPP would not apply to biodiversity certified land, or to SSD or SSI projects. However, the guidelines don’t seem to include clear statements of projects to which the SEPP does and does not apply to, or any transition guidelines.