THE NSW Land and Environment Court has ruled Cessnock City Council had no legal power to approve the development Hunter Economic Zone without first conducting a species impact statement on the Regent Honeyeater.
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The Friends of Tumblebee, represented by the Environment Defenders Office, successfully challenged Cessnock Council’s approval of the construction of an industrial development in an area of forest that is home to the critically endangered bird.
The group argued that a species impact statement should have been undertaken before the development was approved.
It cited research showing the Hunter Economic Zone, where the development would have been located, contains one of the few remaining viable breeding sites for the bird.
The area supports about 10 per cent of the national population of between 350 to 400 birds, according to the latest assessment.
The court ruled, that because the proposed development would require clearing the habitat of the Regent Honeyeater, it would have a significant impact on the bird’s survival.
This means Cessnock City Council had no legal power to approve the development without a species impact statement.
