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Ecologists had called for the forest to be protected because it is ideal habitat for animals including the endangered greater glider, whose numbers were decimated by the Black Summer fires, and the threatened grey-headed flying fox.
Manyana Matters founder Jorj Lowrey said the decision to let the development proceed was a blow for every coastal community fighting a historical or “zombie” development approval, where consent granted years ago remains valid because physical work of some sort has been carried out.
A map showing scarring from the Currowan bushfire around Manyana, with the forest slated for development, near the bottom right, untouched.Credit: Shoalhaven City Council
“We really hoped to succeed here, to give other communities some hope, to say ‘Hang in there, the fight is worth it, there will be a reward’ … [instead] the community and the environment loses out to developers, who somehow end up with everything going their way,” Lowrey said.
She said the conditions provided little comfort because a large part of the littoral rainforest knocked back for development would have to be cleared anyway to create a bushfire buffer zone to protect houses, and hoped Planning Minister Paul Scully would intervene.
Scully said responsibility for any further approvals for the project rested with Shoalhaven City Council, but outgoing mayor Amanda Findley said the state government should step up and buy the land to save it, rather than play a game of pass-the-buck.
“We’re back in this finger-pointing exercise between the state government and the local government,” she said.
The development is 500 metres from the beach at Manyana.Credit: Peter Rae
“The state government don’t want to take responsibility for it because they don’t want to set a precedent, and they don’t want to have to cough up any money for purchasing the block.
“But the state government has bigger pockets, and they’re ones who did approve it.”
A spokesperson for Tanya Plibersek said the federal government considers each project referred to it on a case-by-case basis.
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“The Albanese government has to make decisions in accordance with the facts and the national environment law – that’s what happens on every project, and that’s what’s happened here.”
The spokesperson said planning and development applications, including zombie DAs, were the responsibility of the NSW government.
A parliamentary inquiry into historical development consents has begun in NSW, with committee members visiting coastal communities this month to hear concerns.