$80 million is being invested by the NSW Government to protect koalas and secure their habitat in south-west Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2023-24 NSW Budget provides $48 million to help establish a new national park along the Georges River between Long Point and Appin, which will eventually cover up to 1830 hectares. The suburbs of Long Point, Ingleburn, Minto Heights, Kentlyn, Airds, St Helens Park, Gilead and Appin will host the new park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investment will accelerate the addition of more than 1000 hectares of public land to the NSW national park system within the next 3 years. The transfer and reservation of these lands will deliver long-lasting conservation benefits for Sydney\u2019s largest and one of the state\u2019s healthiest koala populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NSW Government is also providing $26 million to create koala-friendly crossings in south-west Sydney. Two will allow animals to cross below Appin Road, and a third will cross a canal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$5.7 million will go towards koala care in the Macarthur area, to look after local populations of the iconic animal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This $80 million dollar package for koalas in south-west Sydney is part of the new $172 million investment by the NSW Government for the conservation of koalas in the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKoalas are Australia\u2019s most iconic animal and need connected habitat to have any future in Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe NSW Government is delivering on its commitment to protect koala habitat in the city\u2019s south-west, which is home to the only disease-free koala population in the Sydney basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEstablishing a national park and putting more money into infrastructure to keep koalas safe around roads will ensure generations to come will still be able to see koalas in the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Member for Macquarie Fields Anoulack Chanthivong said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m proud to be part of a government taking action to protect and conserve the healthy koala population in our region. This is a special part of our community and it\u2019s something worth safeguarding for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re acting on our commitment to the environment and to keeping our koalas safe, healthy and protected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKoalas are a much-loved part of the Campbelltown community. I know local conservation organisations have been concerned about this population, and today\u2019s announcement gives them and the rest of the community confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInvesting in road crossings and securing habitat is a win for the conservation of koalas. Once they\u2019re gone, they\u2019re gone forever, and we\u2019re taking action now to save them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Member for Camden Sally Quinnell said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe NSW Budget commitment to create a national park in and around Camden will go a long way to securing our koala population and the green spaces they rely on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt will reduce fragmentation of bushland, allowing them to move freely along the edge of the Georges River.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" $80 million is being invested by the NSW Government to protect koalas and secure their habitat in south-west Sydney. The 2023-24 NSW Budget provides $48 million to help establish a new national park along the Georges River between Long Point and Appin, which will eventually cover up to 1830 hectares. The suburbs of Long Point, … Continue reading “NSW Government investing in Sydney koalas”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23035,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23034\/revisions\/23035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}