The head of the state's peak environment council says the wholesale destruction of native habitat for the construction of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass proves why the state's environment laws need to be strengthened.
The previous area of dense scrub, some of which took 200 years to grow, was home to an ecosystem of endangered animals including possums, squirrel gliders and powerful owls.
Nature Conservation Council of NSW chief executive Jacqui Mumford said the environmental destruction was a case study of why existing biodiversity conservation laws were inadequate.
"The Environment Minister should see this destruction for what it is - an example of the chipping away, chopping up and disconnection of bushland that is killing our species," she said.
"There are more development projects on the go in this area and each will take a chunk out of the green space that remains."
Ms Mumford said the state desperately needed a planning and biodiversity conservation system that looked beyond the immediate footprint of a development and assessed connectivity and cumulative impacts in order to stop the "death of a thousand cuts for urban and peri-urban bushland."
"Our current laws are also allowing important habitat to be swapped for money," she said.
"Transport NSW report they are offsetting (purchasing credits that ensure the protection of habitat elsewhere) more than the cleared area with similar vegetation. The problem is, we don't know whether they're actually protecting real habitat. Even if it they are, it doesn't change anything for the wildlife impacted by this road."
She said the bypass project highlighted the importance the current review of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act
"To solve the extinction crisis we must stop habitat destruction at its source, not continue to allow it by permitting offsets to act as 'compensation'. We need to stop development in places of ecological value," she said.
A Transport for NSW spokeswoman previously said staged tree removal and clearance for the project was completed in May 2023. A dedicated ecologist worked throughout to identify and relocate animals to similar habitat in the area.
"The ecologist is required to keep a record of any live fauna that was sighted, captured, released, injured or shocked as well as details of dead fauna that was found as a result of clearing and structures removal operations and fauna rescue," she said.
"This record also includes details of trees being used for breeding or roosting by fauna, including their species, locations, sizes, heights and depths of hollows in trees and photos of rescued fauna and records of road kill during clearing activities."
Meanwhile, Newcastle Labor Councillor Declan Clausen will move a motion next week calling for the bypass to be included in public transport and active transport connections.
"It's incredible that in 2023 were building a new road right next to the uni and John Hunter Hospital but not actually connecting either of those two hubs with anything other than cars," he said.
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