The conservation movement will remember Mike Baird as the premier who repealed some of the state’s most important conservation laws, according to the Nature Conservation Council.
‘Mike Baird might hope to be remembered as a builder, but the NSW conservation movement will remember him as a great destroyer’, Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said.
‘Mr Baird was premier for only a few years but the harm of his backward environmental policies will be felt by our native wildlife, bushland and communities for many years to come,’ Ms Smolski said.
‘On his watch, the Liberal-National government repealed some of the state’s most important nature conservation laws, including the Native Vegetation Act and the Threatened Species Conservation Act, and put in place significantly weaker environmental protections.
‘His legacy is a system of laws that will accelerate land clearing and habitat destruction, and add extinction pressure to the state’s 1000 threatened species.
‘We recognise the Baird government has set a target of net zero carbon emissions, which is a positive signal that carbon pollution and climate change are higher on the Coalition government’s agenda.
‘However, the continued expansion of coal mines in NSW, including in Sydney’s drinking water catchment, and the lack of action on renewables undermines these efforts.
‘We sincerely hope the incoming premier takes a genuine interest in the protection of the astonishing natural beauty and wildlife that is the common legacy of all people in NSW,’ Ms Smolski said.
Baird did not ask anyone.