Koalas supported in approval of controversial NSW quarry extension

A high-profile bid to block the contentious project was backed by celebrities Olivia Newton-John and Jimmy Barnes.

Koala Portrait on Tree Trunk, Australia

The Morrison government has given the final environmental approvals­ to the Brandy Hill quarry extension in the NSW Hunter Valley, rebuffing a high-profile bid to block the project backed by celebrities Olivia ­Newton-John, Jimmy Barnes and Canadian singer k.d. lang.

Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the company proposing the expansion had agreed to establish a 74ha koala habitat near the site to support the population growth of the ­native animal.

The company, Hanson, will pour more than $2m into the habitat in Port Stephens, which will include planting trees, bushfire buffer zones, and protection from dogs and cars.

Ms Ley said that an independent study commissioned by the Departme­nt of Agriculture, Water and the Environment showed there were “as few as one or two koalas … present in the propose­d construction area”.

The study, completed this month by Biolink Ecological Consultants, found koala food trees were sparse on the site and that most trees were of low ­quality for sustaining the animal.

Jimmy Barnes. Picture: AAP

Olivia Newton-John. Picture: Brett Goldsmith

“I recognise that the proposal has been subject to a high-profile campaign that has tapped into the genuine concerns we all share about koalas and the bushfire-impact­ed areas,” Ms Ley said. “In respecting that concern, I have delayed this decision to ensur­e a thorough review of all previous reports and ensured the department commissioned and funded its own independent repor­t from one of the nation’s most respected koala experts.’’

The minister said the “clear finding from the NSW government and the commonwealth department is that Brandy Hill’s expansion, to be staged over the next 25 years, will not rob the area of critical koala habitat’’.

“The 74ha koala corridor can, however, play an important role in nurturing local populations and in delivering a net gain for local koalas by providing better quality habitat than there is at present,” Ms Ley said.

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean urged the federal government last month to consider blocking the approval, over concerns about its impact on the koala habitat.

This is despite the NSW Independent Planning Commission approving the project in July.

The 52ha expansion will supply­ rhyodacite rock, which is used to create asphalt for roads. The $20m project will create 20 jobs in the construction phase and 10 ongoing jobs.

Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said Ms Ley had “signed a death warrant for the koalas that call this place home”. Senator Hanson-Young said “this is bad news for koalas and no amount of pol­itical trickery will change that’’.