Development on hold due to koala concerns
A MAJOR Coomera development is on hold as the Federal Government investigates the risk to the koala population, but conservation groups warn a decision will be based on partial information.
The Department of the Environment and Energy says further assessment is needed for the Polaris Coomera Woods project, near the M1 motorway, under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The Japanese-owned development is planned to have 3722 dwellings by 2033. Documents viewed by the Bulletin indicate 147ha are to be cleared of vegetation containing trees in which koalas are known to live or to visit.
Apart from documentation supplied by the developer and public comments, the department is only in possession of a redacted copy of an independent report commissioned by the city council, the East Coomera Koala Population Study (2017), despite being offered the full report.
The publicly available version of the council-funded report into koala numbers that the federal department is looking at has 17 of its 95 pages redacted.
A Gold Coast City Council spokesman confirmed the department had been offered an un-redacted version of the report, but did not take the council up on the offer.
The council would not say why almost 18 per cent of the document was redacted or why the department did not want the full report.
The council spokesman said the redacted sections of the study contained information available in other sections of the report.
Coomera Conservation Group spokeswoman Karina Waterman yesterday questioned why the report available to the public was partially redacted at all, and why the issue had not been pursued by the federal assessors.
“The fact a federal department was willing to assess a partial report is a huge concern,” Ms Waterman said.
“We believe that this report contains important evidence and should be presented and considered in its entirety.
“We feel there is a responsibility for the Federal Government to seek all information available when making such an important decision.”
Ms Waterman said she would like to see independent assessors have access to the site to ensure a thoroughly researched decision was made.
“We think it is really important they (the Department of Environment and Energy) have a completely accurate analysis of what is going on. We can’t miss out on a recent report on the specific density and locations of our koalas,” she said.
BioLink principal research scientist Steve Phillips, who undertook the original population study that was partially redacted by the council before release, said researchers were not permitted on the Polaris development site during the study.
“The report clearly identifies the Polaris site as one that did not give permission to enter, but that some sites adjoining the property were able to be sampled in accord with the overall survey design,” Dr Phillips said. “The report strongly implies the presence of a resident koala population on (at least) the southern portion of the Polaris site.”
A Federal Environment Department spokesman told the Bulletin the Polaris development would be subjected to further assessment.
“It is likely to have a significant impact on nationally protected environmental matters, specifically the vulnerable koala,” the spokesman said.
“The department is currently determining what further information is needed from the proponent, to inform further assessment of the proposed development. Once it is prepared, further assessment documentation will be published for public comment.’’
Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg did not respond to questions.
2017 EAST COOMERA KOALA POPULATION STUDY