Media Release

20 November 2020

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NSW Labor has condemned Coalition infighting that shows Gladys Berejiklian has lost control of her government at a time when the people of NSW need stability.

The Labor Leader Jodi McKay said “Premier Gladys Berejiklian has lost control of the parliamentary agenda and for the first time we have a Budget Bill that won’t be passed in Budget week.

“This is a Government in chaos,” Ms McKay said.

The Government now intends to abolish the Koala Habitat Protection State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), after Liberal MLC Catherine Cusack voted against the government’s Local Land Services Bill and referred it to an inquiry on Thursday night. The Premier immediately removed Ms Cusack as Parliamentary Secretary.

“I think the winner here is John Barilaro,” Ms McKay said.

“The Premier has kowtowed to him and in the process she’s undermined four years of work by her Planning Minister. That’s undone four years of work to protect koalas.

“The Premier needs to take control and focus on what matters most. It’s workers and families paying the price for her loss of control and inability to unite a deeply-divided Coalition Government.”

The Shadow Minister for Planning and Better Living Adam Searle said: “The koalas of NSW are the losers here.

“Although the koala SEPP did not provide much extra protection, it did provide some,” Mr Searle said.

“Matt Kean says he wants to double the koala population but his own Government is undermining that process, so the real winners are developers and people who want to clear land” — Adam Searle MLC, Shadow Minister for Planning and Better Living

Labor’s comments follow a dysfunctional week for the Coalition, with members crossing the floor on votes and Coalition members openly attacking one another in Parliament.