Lendlease Australia responds to Australian Ethical Statement

We note today’s comments by Australian Ethical regarding our proposed masterplanned community at Gilead.

We have engaged with Australian Ethical over a number of years to share our plans for the project, which fully adhere to the independent and expert recommendations of the NSW Chief Scientist.

Our $35 million investment into conservation at Gilead includes creating koala corridors that have been independently assessed as meeting the recommendations of the Chief Scientist in terms of width and connectivity.

A map outlining the corridors has been published on the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s website. In addition, the Department has published the scientific recommendations and policy that support these corridors, and the methodologies for how they are calculated and mapped.

Our conservation investment also includes plans to increase core koala habitat by 70 hectares – 30 per cent more than what’s there today. And it includes improving road safety on Appin Road, a known blackspot for koala fatalities.

Every conservation measure we have proposed is fully funded and follows the advice of the Chief Scientist’s panel of independent koala experts. By following this advice and investing in conservation, local koalas will have the best opportunity to thrive at Gilead. At no time during project delivery will there be less core koala habitat than there is today.

Australian Ethical’s inference that the public exhibition lacks transparency for koala corridor calculations is demonstrably incorrect given the extensive information that has been published.

The fragility of Australia’s biodiversity is an issue of national significance, and we are acutely aware of our ethical and environmental responsibilities. We remain steadfast in our plans to meet and where possible exceed all of the Chief Scientist’s recommendations for koala conservation as we help address the critical shortage of new and affordable homes in Sydney.

Lendlease recently responded to Australian Ethical’s concerns and our response can be viewed here. The NSW Department of Planning & Environment advice is publicly available here. The full documentation submitted with the rezoning proposal can be found at this website: https://pp.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/ppr/under-exhibition/gilead-stage-2