Three Years On the SAVE MAMBO WETLANDS Banner is Coming Down

BY MADELAINE MCNEILL

Almost three years since their fight began, Port Stephens residents will officially mark the state government's buy-back of the Mambo Wanda Wetlands this weekend.

The "SAVE MAMBO WETLANDS" banner hanging at the site will be taken down in a ceremonial removal on Sunday (June 9) at 11:30am.

Group Secretary Kathy Brown says Planning Minister Rob Stokes' announcement the six-hectare parcel of land had been returned to public hands was an immense relief.

"We didn't know for sure that this was going to happen, we were promised that this would happen but it just seemed to take quite a long time," said Ms Brown.

"We're very grateful that it has happened."

The banner will be removed on Sunday morning. Image: Mambo Wanda Wetlands Conservation Group

Abbott vs Washington: Mambo Wetlands battleground for pre-poll

BY JARROD MELMETH

Independent Port Stephens councillor Jaimie Abbott has been officially endorsed as the Liberal Party candidate for the State seat in the March 2019 election.

In 2013, Cr Abbott unsuccessfully contested the federal seat of Newcastle but managed a swing of 3.7 per cent to the Liberal Party.

Cr Abbott was elected as an independent east-ward councillor in the 2017 Port Stephens local elections.

Cr Abbott said whatever the outcome, she would still remain on Port Stephens council until the end of her term.

"When I first got elected, I made the pledge that I would always put my community first and nothing will change that. It is at the forefront of every decision I make on council," Cr Abbot said.

One of the major issues of contention for Port Stephens in the lead up to the March elections is the NSW Governments sell-off of the Mambo Wetlands at Salamander Bay, which Ms Abbot says she is a strong advocate for and will not be changing her stance on the issue under new leadership.

"I moved a motion at council last year, which was supported unanimously, which included compulsorily acquiring the site and I still believe that is the best way forward to make sure that we can return the land back into public ownership," Cr Abbott said.

Port Stephens MP Kate Washington said she congratulates Cr Abbott on the endorsement but does not know what to make of her position on the Mambo Wetlands.

"She is a Liberal Party member. She has claimed to have influence with the Premier. Why on Earth the land has not been returned to public hands yet? I don't know," Ms Washington said.

L-R: Liberal Candidate for Port Stephens Jaimie Abbott & incumbent MP
Kate Washington.

MP Labels Mambo Wetlands Buy-Back Plans "A Flop"

BY JARROD MELMETH

It has been two years since the NSW Government sold the Mambo Wetlands at Salamander Bay and six months since the Premier wrote to Port Stephens Council indicating that the government would explore its options for purchasing the site back.

In her letter, the Premier said the government was looking to purchase the land through the Coastal Lands Protection Scheme which is used to bring coastal lands into public ownership. The Department of Planning administers the scheme, which receives an annual budget allocation of $3 million for strategic acquisitions.

In Parliamentary question time, Port Stephens MP Kate Washington asked the Minister for Planning when the Department will make a determination on the application to repurchase the Mambo Wetlands site at Salamander Bay using the funding from the Coastal Lands Protection Scheme.

Minister for Planning Anthony Roberts responded saying the Department of Planning has offered to purchase the land but "at this point in time the owner of the Mambo Wetlands site has not accepted the offer."

Ms Washington said if the owner is not willing to sell it back, the government must use its powers to compulsorily acquire the land.

"The government could have already acquired the land. The government knew when they sold it off, how precious this land was. Once they did it they said it was a mistake. They are responsible for fixing their mistake and they have the power to do it," Ms Washington said.

In March, the NSW Labor opposition committed to buying back the land if it forms government in the March 2019 state election.

Mambo Wetlands Site at Salamander Bay.
Photo: Port Stephens Examiner.

Fresh Push To Save Mambo Wetlands

BY IAN CROUCH

It's hoped a vital Koala habitat and important ecosystem at Port Stephens can be saved from development.

A six hectare parcel of so-called "surplus land" which includes a part of the wetlands was sold by the Department of Education last year to developer, Paul Unicomb.

He lodged a development application with Port Stephens Council in September for a duplex on the site.

The sale has angered residents who held a mass rally at the site last month, attended by about 200 locals who called for Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald to be sacked for his failure to intervene to stop the sale. He later admitted it was a mistake.

The Greens are calling for a compulsory acquisition of the land by the state government, while state Labor has promised to buy back the land if it wins government, which could potentially give a massive financial windfall to the developer.

Duty MLC for Port Stephens, Catherine Cusack says both sides of politics and state bureaucrats have dropped the ball in allowing the sale to proceed in the first place, with petitions taken up which were never tabled in parliament and information about the high conservation value of the site never communicated to the Department of Environment.

She's also refuted claims that the land is for sale and the government has knocked it back.

Catherine Cusack says high-level talks are under way at a bureaucratic level to find a way to restore the land to public ownership, but this could take some time to achieve.

"I know this is frustrating for people but I'm certainly prepared to be patient and (I'm) absolutely focused on doing everything I can to protect these (wetlands) and ultimately restore it to a consolidated public reserve, protected in perpetuity," she said.

Overhead View Showing Portion Of Mambo Wetlands Sold To A Private Developer Picture trra.com.au

Residents Attend At Protest Rally In October Picture: Port Stephens Examiner

Petition Launched To Save Koala Population At Mambo Wetlands

BY IAN CROUCH

A petition has been launched calling on the state government to buy back the Mambo Wetlands at Port Stephens in a bid to save the local Koala population.

The government sold the 6 hectare parcel of land to a property developer last year, leaving residents shocked and dismayed.

Port Stephens Councillor, Jaime Abbott raised the issue with Premier Gladys Berejiklian during her visit to the shire last weekend and Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald has previously acknowledged selling the land was a mistake.

Port Stephens Council is considering a development application for the site.

Port Stephens MP, Kate Washington is hoping people power will win the day and is aiming to collect 10,000 signatures on the petition so the issue can be debated in state parliament.

Residents Protest Against Sale Of Mambo Wetlands At Salamander Bay Picture: Port Stephens Examiner

Mambo Wetlands to be Saved from Development by Greens Acquisition Plan

BY NIKOLA JOKANOVIC

The Greens have responded to ongoing community concerns by drafting legislation to prevent the Mambo Wetlands from being cleared and developed, as was planned by the Port Stephens Council.

Legislation will be soon introduced by the Greens to the New South Wales Parliament to compulsorily acquire the Wetlands at Salamander Bay and the koala habitat found there.

The move comes following strong community action against the state government's sale of the land, with concerns over the area's environmental health and the survival of the already-embattled koala population in the area.

The area was sold in an online auction for $250,000 earlier in 2016, with options for dual occupancy if consented to.

Greens New South Wales MP and environmental spokeswoman Dr. Mehreen Farqui says that although the community has thrown their weight behind it, the acquisition isn't certain until it appears in Parliament.

"We know that the community in Port Stephens are really up in arms about this mess. I'm really pleading to the Liberal national government to pass this legislation: it's sitting there, the community wants it, the environment needs it. We're hoping that we will get support but we won't know until we introduce the legislation."

200 people appeared on the site on Monday the 2nd of October to protest the plans.

However, despite community concerns, the development application stated that the proposal had been "positioned to largely avoid areas of preferred koala habitat", and that development would cause an "incremental reduction of supplementary koala habitat".

Despite this, community members and the Greens remain committed to reclaiming the Wetlands for permanent conservation.

"The Mambo Wetlands are rich in biodiversity, and they're also a habitat for koalas," says Dr. Farqui.

"We must make sure that this land is permanently protected. Sadly the only way to do that since the government has sold it off is to acquire it compulsorily."

Community members are concerned about the effect the proposed development would have had on the Wetlands' Koala population.
Image: Newcastle Herald

Horror weekend for Port Stephen's koalas

BY DECLAN PAYNE and JESSICA ROUSE

Port Stephen's koala population have had a horror weekend with at least five hit by cars.

Sadly one koala has died, and another is reported to have a fractured leg.

The warmer weather is said to be to blame for the increasing number of koalas on the move and being put in harms way.

Port Stephens MP Kate Washington believes the government could be doing a lot more to stop this devastation to the species.

"What it could be doing and should have done last year is not sell the Mambo Wetlands which is core koala habitat. The other thing the government could be doing is helping support a great initiative which is the development of a koala hospital here in Port Stephens."

She said it's also the responsibility of the community to be more aware on the road.

"We must all take some responsibility and keep a good eye out because our koalas in Port Stephens are under threat. They're under threat from over-development and we must all stay very alert of that fact."