40 Years of Campaign Achievements

In 1990 an educational and advocacy campaign began to influence the community’s understanding of where firewood was sourced from (often threatened ecological communities on cleared farmland) and the impact of smoke from wood fires on the health of ACT residents. It was a starting point that would influence future reforms in respect to firewood regulation and the use of wood heaters in the ACT.

The Gungahlin Drive Extension (GDE) is also known as the John Dedman Parkway (JDP) Extension. The campaign in the 1990s that significantly raised the profile of the Conservation Council, including through protests and arrests of protesters, focussed on the ecological impacts of the construction of the JDP on Black Mountain and the Bruce, O’Connor and Aranda Ridges. The Council worked with member groups (particularly Friends of Aranda Bushland, Australian Conservation Foundation and Pedal Power) and the broader community based group Save the Ridge. This was a time that the Council was focussed on transport in the ACT and had produced in 1997 a blue print for transport Canberra at the Crossroads, which is referenced in the Assembly’s enquiry into the JDP.

The ACT Government proposed plans for North Gungahlin that would have seen a significant reduction in the lowland grassy woodland habitants across the north of the ACT. From 1992 the Council worked with member groups (particularly Canberra Ornithological Group (COG), Field Naturalists, Society for Growing Australian Plants and National Parks Australia ACT (NPA ACT) to reduce this impact and this resulted in the creation of the Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve. However, the campaign continued as suburbs rolled out and another significant win was the removal of the northern section of Throsby from proposed development. This significantly improved the viability of Goorooyaroo Nature Reserve and its connection to Mulligans Flat. Another associated success was the movement of the Gungahlin Town Centre to protect the striped legless lizard (Delma impar) habitat .

The 2003 bushfires led to significant actions by the Council and its member groups to ensure that responses to the effects of this disaster considered the environment in any subsequent actions and strategies. It led to the Council being a representative on the ACT Bushfire Council where its presence had many positive impacts for the environment and meant that the Council was not only across but influenced bushfire management issues.

The planning for the suburb of Coombs always included a narrow parcel of proposed development that extended from the main body of the suburb into the Molonglo River Corridor Reserve. This development increased the bushfire hazard reduction measures required in the reserve and reduced the reserve’s viability. From 2000 the Council maintained a constant long term lobbying campaign that finally saw the rezoning of this area to make it part of the Molonglo River Reserve in 2025.

The Conservation Council successfully lobbied the then Liberal ACT Government to be the first Australian jurisdiction to announce greenhouse gas reduction targets in 1997.  It was the start of the ACT being a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With continuing Council and community lobbying the following Labor government has prepared a number of climate change strategies and updates of the targets.

The Conservation Council and member groups successfully lobbied for the introduction of a separate yellow bin for recyclables (paper, cardboard, plastic, glass) in 1994.