Perrottet faces bitter internal split over new ‘koala wars’ outbreak

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet faces a damaging internal battle in the final week of parliament as Liberals threaten to cross the floor over the revival of the so-called koala wars which almost tore apart the Coalition two years ago.

As NSW parliament sits for the last time before the March election, the bitter issue of protecting koala habitat could split the Coalition, with Liberals who face challenges from teal candidates fearing it would ignite a backlash against the government.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on Sunday defended his decision to appoint former Snowy Hydro boss Paul Broad as a special adviser. Credit: Edwina Pickles

The Nationals have introduced a bill to make it easier for landholders to clear private native forestry without duplicate approval processes between state and local governments. However, critics have warned it could water down environmental regulation and destroy koala habitat.

Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court described revisiting the koala wars as a “gift” for the teal movement in NSW, which would seize on the NSW government’s position in northern Sydney seats.

Holmes a Court said Perrottet had made three significant environmental missteps in recent weeks, which included committing to raising the Warragamba Dam Wall and appointing former Sydney Hydro boss Paul Broad as a special adviser.

Broad, who was appointed by Perrottet while Energy Minister Matt Kean was overseas, has been a critic of NSW’s energy road map, which provides long-term contracts for renewable generation and grid services. Broad has called the plan, devised by Kean, “fundamentally flawed”.

He also backed the former federal government in its push for a large new gas-fired power plant in the Hunter Valley.

“Until recently, it’s been hard for the teals to find strong differentiation in states with almost-good-enough environmental credentials like Victoria and NSW,” Holmes a Court said.

“Dominic Perrottet has handed the movement a gift through deciding to flood a UNESCO site with many significant Aboriginal sites, reopening the koala wars and putting Angus Taylor’s gas man in the Premier’s office.”

Asked on Sunday about Broad’s appointment, Perrottet said he was “highly regarded, and his experience in water, engineering and infrastructure is second to none in this country”.

Perrottet said Broad’s remit included raising the Warragamba wall and ensuring the $3.5 billion Narrabri gas project was online as soon as possible.

The Coalition battled internal warfare over koala planning laws in 2020, when former deputy premier John Barilaro threatened to take his Nationals MPs to the crossbench if proposed new rules to protect an increased number of tree species home to koalas were adopted.

Then premier Gladys Berejiklian stared him down and Barilaro withdrew the threat.

The bill to change planning laws for private native forests will be debated this week and is likely to be particularly problematic for Liberal MP James Griffin, who is environment minister and holds the seat of Manly, which has a very active independents’ group.

However, several senior government sources said other at-risk Liberals, including North Shore MP Felicity Wilson and Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams, are considering crossing the floor or abstaining. Nationals MP for Tweed Geoff Provest could also abstain.

Wilson, Williams and Provest were contacted for comment.

In an indication of how damaging Wilson thinks the bill could be, she gave a private members’ statement to parliament last week when she wanted her “support for a plan to transition the native forestry industry towards sustainable plantations” placed on the record.

Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders introduced the private native forestry bill on Wednesday.

Saunders told the Herald that the proposal was something that had been in the works for some time but insisted it did not water down environmental requirements.

“I’d go as far as saying it is strengthening all the requirements,” he said. “Everything is in place for a sustainable private forestry scenario and best environmental outcomes.”

Opposition environment spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said Labor would oppose the bill.

“The community is shocked and concerned to know that koalas are on track to extinction in NSW,” Sharpe said

“The Liberals say they care about koalas, but they have just rolled over and let the Nationals do the worst thing possible which is to reduce protections for the trees koalas need to survive.”

Local Government NSW president Darriea Turley said the bill had been rushed into parliament without any consultation with local government.

“This bill undermines the crucial role councils play in the regulation of private forestry operations,” Turley said. “It will have devastating impacts on important native habitats, particularly for koalas and many of the state’s other threatened species.”

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