NSW government forced to pull divisive ‘koala wars’ bill

The NSW government has been forced into a humiliating backdown in the latest koala wars after Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile refused to back its native forestry bill, guaranteeing it would have failed on the floor of parliament.

Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders confirmed late on Monday that the Nationals would pull the hugely divisive bill in a bid to avoid an embarrassing loss for the Coalition in the final sitting week of parliament before the March election.

Critics of the bill have warned it could water down environmental regulation and destroy koala habitat.Credit: Cole Bennetts

The death knell for the bill came when Nile ruled out support for changes to native forestry laws, which would have made it easier for landholders to remove trees.

Without Nile’s support, the bill could not have passed the upper house and it was also likely to fail in the lower house because Nationals MP Geoff Provest told Nationals leader Paul Toole on Monday that he would not support the bill. Liberal MP Felicity Wilson also ruled out supporting the bill.

Millionaire businessman and environmental crusader Geoff Cousins, who waged the high-profile campaign to stop the Gunns pulp mill in Tasmania during the 2007 federal election campaign, also delivered a blistering warning to the NSW government, saying he would “do everything I can to run a major campaign against the Perrottet government in the next election” in response to the bill.

“I would liken the sort of campaign I would run to the Gunns pulp mill campaign,” Cousins, a former adviser to John Howard, said. “If they want to go up against that, that’s fine. But it would include a major advertising campaign and I would do everything I could to bring down a government that would put forward legislation like this.”

The Nationals introduced the bill to make it easier for landholders to clear private native forestry without duplicate approval processes between state and local government. However, Provest said no one in his Tweed electorate had ever raised it with him as an issue.

Critics of the bill have warned it could water down environmental regulation and destroy the habitat of koalas, which are endangered in NSW.

The native forest bill was the second piece of controversial legislation the government has pulled in a fortnight, with reforms to registered clubs abandoned after crossbenchers planned to move an amendment to make cashless gaming cards mandatory for poker machines.

After briefings with the government and environmentalists, Nile released a statement on Monday, confirming his opposition to the bill.

Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile will not back the government’s native forestry bill.

“I support local decisions being made about local issues,” Nile said. “Local communities should be empowered to make independent decisions regarding their local environment. I am greatly concerned that this bill will set a legislative precedent winding back the role of local government in NSW.”

Nile said he respected “the sacred nature of koalas to Aboriginal Australians as totems”.

“The koala is also a much loved and iconic native animal that is known throughout the entire world,” he said. “Koalas and their habitats have been dwindling away even before those terrible bushfires ravaged our state. I would seek to protect their habitats rather than create the conditions for their potential loss.”

Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams also told the premier’s office she would not support the bill.

Wilson, who faces a teal threat in her seat, said: “Our own government has listed koalas as endangered in NSW and we’ve taken strong steps towards doubling koala numbers by 2050. “I could not support legislation that might instead accelerate the risks to koalas and I’m working to get the government to change its position on the National Party bill.”

Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich was also opposed to the bill.

“NSW is in a biodiversity crisis and, in the final week of this parliament, the government should not be leaving a legacy of further facilitating the destruction of koala habitat,” Greenwich said.

Toole defended the bill earlier on Monday, arguing it would make it “easier” for landowners and cut down red tape, while Premier Dominic Perrottet downplayed the internal damage the bill could do to the Coalition, insisting he was “relaxed” about the issue.

Saunders introduced the bill last Wednesday. Several MPs and ministers have since confirmed they felt blindsided, and said they had not been briefed fully on the bill’s impact and any potential threat to koala habitat.

In a statement on Monday, Saunders said “while this bill upholds all existing protections for the environment, we will continue to have further conversations with local councils to progress legislation that unites communities and industry.”

“There is significant public interest in this bill that warrants further consultation.”

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