The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) couldn’t provide an accurate lease notice for Wild Bush Luxury resorts exhibited in May 2024. The GPS co-ordinates and the shape files of the three resort sites didn’t correspond, and a new notice had to be prepared and readvertised with correct co-ordinates. In fact it took the NPWS three goes at advertising the lease notice description to get it right.
While the NPWS can’t locate the three glamping resort proposals on a map, they had had no problem advising Environment Minister Penny Sharpe that the three glamping resorts aren’t in pagoda landscapes. Of course, the proposed glamping resorts are in pagoda landscapes, as future patrons will want to enjoy viewing them from their expensive accommodation (see figure below and also download the KML files below into Google Earth and decide for yourself).
From the submissions analysis report it appears the NPWS did not consider the environmental concerns raised by 1,773 objectors, when recommending to their Minister that the lease proposal for these development activities can proceed due to low impacts and not being in pagoda landscapes. The lease notice submissions assessment report also passed over the environmental concerns raised by objected because these representations were made before the environmental assessment.
By stating the resorts are of low impact in its submissions assessment, the NPWS revealed they have made up their minds on impacts before the environmental assessments are published.
So, it seems that the NPWS environmental assessments must now somehow do the impossible and map pagoda landscapes to exclude the resorts, wherever they may be. This bunkum report about these three glamping proposals not being in pagoda landscapes, is just like the Forestry Commission behaviour of the 1970's that once claimed the existence of just one eucalypt tree meant an area wasn’t rainforest, and could be logged.
Before re-exhibition, the lease notice grid reference was 150 metres north-west of the Zone 3 polygon (in blue). The rocks in the image are pagodas and the entire image depicts various elements of a pagoda landform. The NPWS will now map pagoda landscapes to avoid the glamping zones - this is of course the usual backwards environmental assessment process to justify development, instead of mitigating impact.
Statements in the reserve's Master Plan that unique geological features and habitats would be protected are of no effect, not only because such plans have no legal force whatever, but because subsequent environmental assessments processes do not determine the location of these facilities, and may attempt to deny reality when mapping pagoda landscapes. These apparently poor management practices compromise the Gardens of Stone region and are not in keeping with past NPWS management practice.
Further, examination of BioNet website data has revealed that the Lost City walking track has been built over a large population of Veronica blakelyi , an endangered plant. The issue here is not that visitor facilities do not have impacts, rather it is that these developments did have impacts and the public did not have an opportunity to object, propose mitigation or impact avoidance proposals. The Review of Environmental Affects and accompanying assessments have not been published, as promised and these documents are currently being sought under Freedom of Information laws. It will be interesting to discover whether these environmental reports contained mitigation measures and if these were implimented.
Lost City walk was located in Veronica blakelyi NSW status E1 habitat - source Bionet website
The management principles of the National Parks and Wildlife Act require that visitor use be compatible with heritage conservation, which includes endangered species. In effect that this means is that environmental assessment in a conservation area must determine where and how a development proposal is undertaken, if at all, not a so-called Master Plan (or glamping resort developer).
Destination Pagoda, developed by environment groups, stated this principle of protecting heritage as follows: "where developments are close to or may impact high-value features, then facilities should be located and designed to minimise environmental damage. The rarer the value, the more protection is required."
Development dictated by Master Plan and resort developer before environmental assessment is a long way from the management principles under the Parks Act.
The Gardens of Stone Pagoda Walk was determined by the proposed resort sites chosen by the developer. To fit a multiday walk in the selected area between the resort sites, the walk meanders all over Carne Creek catchment. This is not how you plan and implement visitor management in a reserve. This is not a criticism of the field officers doing the difficult track constuction work, or the marvellous ecological restoration of the former 1,200ha pine forest. It is a criticism of the political decision making that supported the developer selecting sites before the environmental assessment that should indeed have excluded pagoda landscapes and endangered species.
Take action - write to Environment Minister Penny Sharpe.