*Thankyou to all our supporters who have signed and even promoted this petition by donating. Please be aware that contributing via Change does not go directly to the campaign but is given to Change.org - If you would like to contribute directly to the campaign please go to our go fund me page. https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-wallum-brunswick-heads

The proposed development, “Wallum” in Brunswick Heads, poses a direct threat to the heart of our community, the cherished wildlife that calls it home, and the promise of a thriving ecosystem that future generations should be able to experience.

Wallum is not merely a piece of land; it's a symbol of our shared and natural heritage. Transforming this precious environment into a 131 lot luxury housing estate would not only displace the unique flora and fauna that have evolved and thrived here for centuries, but also deprive our community of a priceless connection to nature.

The development strikes at the very heart of some of the most pristine beauty that the Byron Shire has to offer, bordering the Cape Byron Marine Park and the Tyagara Nature Reserve.

Saving Wallum is not just about conserving land; it's about safeguarding our identity, our environment, and the legacy that we leave for those who will follow in our footsteps.

Wallum supports countless plant and animal species, as well as ‘threatened ecological communities’. Many of these species and habitats are listed both within NSW and Federally as endangered, threatened, or vulnerable, with some also endemic to this unique region. Some of these include the magnificent Glossy Black Cockatoo, Wallum Froglet, Koala, Australasian Bittern, Mitchell’s Rainforest Snail, Southern Swamp Orchid, Swamp Foxglove, Water Nutgrass, Byron Bay Diuris, Square-stemmed Spike-rush, Noah's False Chickweed, Spider Orchid, critically endangered Regent Honeyeater, Swift Parrot, and Native Guava, to name a few. At its core, the property is a wallum heathland. In fact, it’s some of the last remaining wallum heathland in the region - a unique ecosystem home to incredible wildflowers, ancient scribbly gums (with hollows!), stands of swamp mahogany and other vital habitats. Its role as a critical filter for the Cape Byron Marine Park, with mangrove and seagrass blue forests potentially under threat from runoff, pollution, and increased human access, is yet another reason that clearing and developing it should not even be considered as an option.

This unique and important environment faces a "Zombie Development Application (DA)” that was approved in 2013, under what is now incredibly outdated legislation. The approvals also included multiple flaws and a lack of due diligence when it comes to many of the aforementioned species and habitats.

As our region recovers from devastating bushfires and floods, the need to preserve our extreme weather and climate buffers like Wallum is clearer than ever.

Unfortunately, we are currently at a crossroads where immediate action is imperative to prevent impending irreversible damage for this incredibly fragile and important ecosystem. Delaying action is not an option. The time to protect Wallum is now!

We, the undersigned, urgently call upon Tanya Plibersek, the Federal Minister for Environment and Water, to support the growing movement to protect Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) within the property boundary. We implore you to initiate a "Controlled Action" under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, 1999. By taking this action, you will safeguard not only our unique natural heritage and well-being, but also our ability to ensure climate resilience and a safe future.

Additionally, we earnestly request Paul Scully, NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, to intervene by revisiting and reassessing this DA, alongside Penny Sharpe, NSW Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Heritage. Minister Plibersek, Minister Scully, Minister Sharpe, we implore you to use your respective powers to ensure the preservation of Wallum's rich biodiversity and delicate ecosystems, while revisiting the severely inadequate environmental assessments undertaken in approving the DA for this development. We have a growing movement of renowned university ecologists, politicians, planners, engineers, environmental scientists and community members who have reviewed all of the documents associated to the DA in detail and recognise that multiple MNESs and other important environmental values were not adequately considered, if at all.

With your help, together, we can secure the lasting protection that this vital wilderness so desperately needs.