Lisa Harrold Independent for Lindsay

Lisa Harrold

“This campaign presents an opportunity to secure an unprecedented commitment from the Federal government to protect some of Western Sydneys last great bushland remnants”.

"There has never been a more pivotal time in our history to ensure that a balance is found between urban development and the protection of threatened ecosystems and habitat for wildlife. The past few decades has seen massive urbanisation of Western Sydney with no regard for habitat and the displacement of our native fauna. I have never protested the need for urban development but am simply seeking a small win for the future of the diverse flora and fauna of the Cumberland Plain."

“Politicians from both major parties are aware of our proposed Cumberland Conservation Corridor and yet, despite support in principle, there has been no urgency to implement the concept and there has been absolutely no financial commitment to protect the last remaining remnants of bushland which are of a size that is sufficient to function as habitat, or to embrace the last opportunity to create a corridor to protect in perpetuity the rich diversity of plant and animal life of the Cumberland Plain.”

About Lisa

I am a resident of the Mulgoa Valley and have lived in Penrith all my life. Many people in the Penrith area know of me, through my involvement with the Mulgoa Valley Landcare Group, as Lisa Sinclair – my maiden name. I am married with three fabulous boys aged 7, 5, and 3. Prior to having my children I completed a Degree in Physiotherapy and worked at Nepean Hospital, Penrith for 10 years specializing in Paediatrics and Neonatal Intensive Care.

The Mulgoa Valley Landcare Group has been dedicated to the conservation and management of the Mulgoa Creek Biodiversity Corridor which protects endangered vegetation communities, provides habitat for wildlife and connects isolated pockets of remnant vegetation within the Mulgoa Valley. Our group has been very successful in applying for funding through government agencies and departments and to date around $400,000 has been invested in our project. We work closely with property owners along Mulgoa Creek encouraging their support and participation in our project to enhance the quality of native vegetation, control invasive environmental weeds and exclude stock from our fragile creek corridor. Our group was established 12 years ago and to date around two thirds of property owners are participating in the project. Recently we were awarded the regional Landcare Award for ‘Nature Conservation’ which reflects the dedication and achievements of our core team of volunteers who support the project on a monthly basis.

I have also been involved in the protection and management of the Mulgoa Nature Reserve having developed an appreciation for this area at a very young age. From it’s original gazettal in 1991 it has grown from an isolated pocket of remnant vegetation of 63Ha in size to a viable nature reserve protecting endangered Cumberland plain woodland and supporting rare bat and owl species and numerous other fauna species of the Cumberland Plain. Our Mulgoa Creek corridor project currently provides the only link for wildlife to mobilize in and out of this area. We have worked with Penrith Council in developing a new corridor link east bound to the Orchard Hills Defence Site as part of Stage 2 expansion of Glenmore Park

About one year ago I was approached to form a new group, the Western Sydney Conservation Alliance, which is an umbrella group representing a number of environmental groups in Western Sydney. We felt the need to present a united voice to all levels of government to gain a better conservation outcome for Western Sydney’s vanishing bushland.

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What is the Cumberland Conservation Corridor?

The Cumberland Conservation Corridor (CCC) is an initiative of the Western Sydney Conservation Alliance – an alliance of resident and environment groups – to protect and manage some of the last great remnants of Western Sydney’s bushland. The aim is to establish a series of large Nature Reserves that can be linked to smaller bushland remnants to create a 30 kilometre, 10,000 hectare haven for our native plants and animals.

What land is needed to establish the corridor?

A majority of the land needed to establish the CCC is already publicly owned by the Federal and NSW Governments. Some privately owned land is needed to create the CCC and this will need to be purchased, leased or conserved by alternative means such as landowners entering into conservation agreements and being paid to manage their land.

We are calling on the Liberal and Labor parties to commit before the 2007 Federal Election to help establish the CCC by handing to the NSW Government ownership of 2000 hectares of Heritage listed Commonwealth land plus establish a $100 million conservation fund to purchase land and manage the CCC into the future. The Commonwealth land needed is 1370 ha of the Orchard Hills Defence Establishment (1970 ha in total) and the entire 558 hectare Air Services Australia site at Shanes Park.

Why is the CCC so important?

There is very little habitat left in Western Sydney to support our native flora and fauna and this is largely due to urban development. A lot of land clearing for housing has resulted in fragmented parcels of bushland dotted across Western Sydney and these areas over time become degraded and native species are lost. There is to be no respite from urban development in Western Sydney over the next 30 years and therefore there is an urgent need to ensure the best and most viable remnants of bushland habitat are afforded permanent protection from urban development. A corridor of these best remnants will ensure a diversity of species continue to survive and flourish.

Why is federal government funding so important?

We are calling for the Federal Liberal and Labor parties to commit before the 2007 election to provide $100 million in funding to acquire land for the CCC and to protect and manage the CCC’s flora and fauna into the future. One of the major reasons why bushland in Western Sydney is being trashed and species threatened is because there are no funds to protect and manage them. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Local Councils are always crying poor that there are no funds available to them to purchase land for conservation and to then manage that land.

This funding we are asking for will change all this. We are requesting that Federal Liberal and Labor commit to make the $100 million funding available and to aim it specifically at the NSW NPWS and Councils so that they become the main conservation managers of the CCC. E.g. the NSW NPWS applies to the CCC fund for $5 million to purchase 50 hectares of bushland in Penrith and a further $1 million to manage the land. Another scenario could be Penrith Council applies to the CCC fund for $200,000 to auspice a bush regeneration program along South Creek.

The funding will provide comprehensive management of the bushland within the CCC. It will be used for: Plans of Management; fencing; bush regeneration; revegetation works; the building of a new native plant nursery; community education programs; walking trails and signage; biodiversity studies and mapping etc. This funding will generate jobs for a range of sectors, provide training and volunteer opportunities and educate us and our kids. Above all it will ensure we leave a lasting positive environmental legacy for future generations of Australians to enjoy and be proud of.

What can I do to help establish the CCC?

The most important thing you can do is try to convince the Liberal and Labor parties to support this fantastic initiative. You can convince them by writing, emailing, phoning or arranging to meet your local Liberal and Labor candidate or John Howard and Kevin Rudd themselves:

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Use the information below to send a message to the Liberal and Labor Parties

Karen Chijoff
Lindsay: Liberal candidate 251A Queen Street St Marys 276O or 552 High Street, Penrith NSW 2750; karen@karenchijoff.com Ph 4732 3330

David Bradbury
Lindsay: Labor candidate PO Box 181 St Marys NSW 1790; David.Bradbury@alp.org.au Ph 4702 6464 or 0413 158 565

Louise Markus MP
Greenway: Liberal candidate - Ph 9622 1533Suite 113, Level 1 30 - 32 Campbell St, Blacktown NSW 2148 Louise.Markus.MP@aph.gov.au

Michael Vassili
Greenway: Labor candidate 40 Lalor Road Quakers Hill NSW 2764 Michael.Vassili@alp.org.au Ph 0404 872 229

Malcolm Turnbull
Environment Minister Malcolm.Turnbull.MP@aph.gov.au His adviser Bruce Male bruce.male@environment.gov.au

Peter Garrett
Shadow Environment Minister Peter.Garrett.MP@aph.gov.au His adviser Wayne Smith wayne.smith@aph.gov.au

Prime Minister The Hon John Howard MP
230 Victoria Road Gladesville NSW 2111; Ph 6277 7700

Leader of the Opposition Mr Kevin Rudd MP
PO Box 6022 House of Representatives Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.au Ph 6277 4022

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Downloads

2007 Election commitment - Letter sent to John Howard pdf file

2007 Election commitment - Letter sent to Kevin Rudd pdf file

Help create the Cumberland Conservation Corridor pdf file

Petition to Howard and Rudd create CCC pdf file

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Lisa Harrold – Independent candidate for Lindsay
Media Release
Sunday, 4 November 2007

Me tooism failing to protect rare Western Sydney bushland

Me tooism is putting the Cumberland Conservation Corridor, a 10,000 hectare green belt initiative in outer Western Sydney, at risk claims Lisa Harrold who is running as an Independent for the marginal seat of Lindsay.

Lisa Harrold is calling on the Labor and Liberal parties to commit before the election to assist with creating the green belt by handing to the NSW Governments National Parks and Wildlife Service ownership of nearly 2000 ha of Heritage Listed Commonwealth land and creating a $100 million conservation fund to help further establish and manage the green belt.

The ‘me tooism’ in this instance has nothing to do with Labor matching a Liberal policy announcement. What is occurring is that Labor is at one with the Liberals in refusing to announce that it will hand over any of the Commonwealth land or any funding.

“I am running in this election to try to get a commitment from the Labor and Liberal parties to protect the environment of Western Sydney. The past few decades has seen massive urbanisation of Western Sydney with no regard for habitat and the displacement of our native fauna. The Commonwealth has reaped a tidy profit from the sale and development of bushland on its surplus properties in Western Sydney.” said, Lisa Harrold.

“There has never been a more pivotal time in our history to ensure that a balance is found between urban development and conservation especially if we are serious about reversing climate change. The Federal Government owns some of the best bushland left in Western Sydney at Orchard Hills Defence Base and the Air Services Australia site at Shanes Park. It is time that they gave something back to Western Sydney by transferring ownership of the heritage listed areas of these sites to the NSW Government so that they can be protected in perpetuity as Nature Reserves.”

“David Bradbury and Karen Chijoff are more than aware of the Cumberland Conservation Corridor proposal and yet, despite support in principle, they have both shown no commitment to assist implement the concept nor contribute the necessary funding. Their refusal to act demonstrates a clear lack of commitment to the environment and it shows that they have no policies or local initiatives to tackle climate change.”

“There is only one way for Labor and Liberal to ensure the Heritage listed bushland on Orchard Hills and Shanes Park can never be developed and that is for the land to be transferred to the National Parks and Wildlife Service with binding covenants in the sale contract to prevent any future development. It is a simple process and the land could be sold for just a dollar.”

“I am calling on Karen Chijoff and David Bradbury to get off their hands and get a signed commitment from John Howard and Kevin Rudd stating that the Liberal and Labor Parties will deliver this massive environmental win for Western Sydney.”

Media Release
Thursday, 20 September 2007

Howard and Rudd called on to create green legacy in marginal Western Sydney seats – $100 million plus 2000 ha of land wanted

An alliance of Western Sydney conservation groups has recently written to John Howard and Kevin Rudd calling on them to hand over to the NSW Government 2000 hectares of Heritage listed Commonwealth land to facilitate the creation of a 10,000 hectare 30 km conservation corridor within the marginal federal seats of Lindsay and Greenway. They have also called for the establishment of a $100 million no strings attached federal conservation fund that can be accessed by the NSW Government and Local Councils to acquire the bushland needed to create the corridor and for the long term management of the corridors conservation values.

The Western Sydney Conservation Alliance (WSCA) has tagged the corridor the Cumberland Conservation Corridor (CCC) and claims if created it will be the greatest green outcome ever for Western Sydney. The CCC will become a network of Nature Reserves and contain some of the last great bushland remnants found on the Cumberland Plain. It will protect hundreds of threatened and vulnerable fauna and flora species. It will be twice the size of the Western Sydney Parklands.

The Request to Howard and Rudd:

Hand over the entire 558 hectare Air Services Australia Site at Shanes Park to the NSW Government to become a Nature Reserve
Hand over the 1370 hectare Commonwealth Heritage Listed area of the Orchard Hills Defence Establishment (total area of site is 1970 ha) to the NSW Gov to become a Nature Reserve
Establish a $100 million conservation fund to create and manage the Cumberland Conservation Corridor. The fund will be depoliticised and available on application to the NSW Government and Local Councils for projects such as land acquisition and conservation management (eg. Plans of management, paying landowners to protect bushland, fencing, bush regeneration, revegetation etc.)

“Western Sydney’s environment is at crisis point due to rampant urban development and neglect by all levels of government. Development in the Growth Centres will lead to the bulldozing of a further 1900 hectares of endangered Cumberland Plain bushland and the displacement of native fauna. By protecting these massive Commonwealth sites John Howard and Kevin Rudd will be ensuring that environmental disasters like the ADI Site development are never again repeated. The Liberal and Labor leaders now have the opportunity to create a lasting environmental legacy for the people of Western Sydney.” said Geoff Brown for WSCA.

“The creation of this corridor may be the issue that wins Lindsay and Greenway for the major parties. WSCA is pleased that the Greens candidates in these seats have taken the creation and funding of the CCC on as their major local issue. WSCA will also run candidates in Lindsay and Greenway to ensure this major conservation outcome is delivered for the people of Western Sydney.”

“The $100 million conservation fund is absolutely crucial. There are bushland remnants all throughout Lindsay and Greenway that are being trashed due to no plans of management and no money being available to protect them. They are havens for rubbish dumpers, arsonists and trail bike riders. It’s an absolute disgrace. This fund will go a long way to restoring the ecological values of these sites. The $100 million fund should be depoliticised and be available to the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change and Local Councils to take on these specific conservation projects within the CCC. This fund will enable the acquisition of several key sites such as the former 181 ha Air Services Australia site at Cranebrook which is vital to create the CCC.

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Lisa at the Air Services Australia site Shanes Park

Members of the public signing the Cumberland Conservation Corridor petition and meeting some of the fauna it would protect

Lisa Harrold and Wayne Olling of the Western Sydney Conservation Alliance about to lobby David Bradbury the Labor candidate for Lindsay

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