Minns government’s environmental integrity condemned as ‘nonexistent’ amid 40% surge in land clearing

On Friday the NSW government formally gazetted the first 962 hectares of a promised national park for koalas on the Georges River in south-western Sydney. Photograph: Bec Lorrimer/The Guardian

The Minns government has lost its way on environmental policy, according to the New South Wales opposition, the Greens and a member of the crossbench, after government data revealed a 40% surge in land clearing across the state.

The report is the latest headache for a state government under pressure over conservation concerns, including continued logging in a promised koala park in the state’s north and the failure of a koala translocation project in the state’s south.