2025-02-14
Lines attributable to Jo Clay, Deputy Leader of the ACT Greens:
The Bluetts Block protection announced today is a win for the community. The Greens have been supporting Canberrans in campaigning for this valuable, ecological area to be protected and finally Labor has done what the community has asked.
Last year the community and ACT Greens were deeply disappointed when the Labor Planning Minister called in a development on Bluetts Block. The ACT Greens Environment Minister was blindsided and the community was outraged.
The community is tired of fighting for piecemeal protection for nature. We need full protection for the Western Edge to protect our environment. We also need to actively restore and reconstruct long lost native habitat, not protect small patches as a trade-off for development.
We also need to start a genuine conversation with the community about setting an urban growth boundary. The Greens secured this in our Supply and Confidence Agreement with Labor - it’s time to get on with this work.
The decision announced today to protect Bluetts Block as a nature reserve due to its ecological value shows why we can’t simply keep sprawling our city to the outer fringes.