‘Koala wars’: NSW government scraps contentious native forestry bill to head off revolt

Conservationists feared for koala habitat if the NSW bill became law. Photograph: John White Photos/Getty Images

A revolt from independents and some Coalition MPs has forced the New South Wales government to scrap a Nationals bill that would have made it easier for farmers to cut down koala habitat across the state.

Just days after introducing it into parliament, the agriculture minister, Dugald Saunders, announced late Monday that the government will no longer proceed with the bill.