Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission in relation to Polestar’s ‘Night at the Barracks’ event series at North Head.
For context, we cite and support the 2020 Independent Review of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust when it stated, in relation to North Head, ‘that recreation and nature conservation are not necessarily incompatible and should not be viewed as such’. (Ref Appendix 1 below). Furthermore, we acknowledge that a statutory object of the SHFT Act is to ‘maximise public access to Trust land’ and we recognise that this ‘need not be at the expense of a site’s utility or environmental values’.
However, our initial concerns and subsequent HPG Members’ attendee experience, lead us to the unequivocal view that the Polestar Barracks events in their current format are incompatible with the core objectives of the SHFT Act, inconsistent with SHFT Trust’s own published guidelines, and incongruent when judged against the latest academic research.
Specifically, our concerns relate to the impact of excessive light and noise on the surrounding environment in the late afternoon and evening, most notably on the significant number of endangered and threatened species, including the Long-nosed Bandicoot, Eastern Bent-Wing Bat, Grey-headed Flying-fox, Powerful Owl, Barking Owl, and federally listed Large-eared Pied Bat.
Indeed, we cite, for example, the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust's online publication to 'HELP PROTECT THE LONG-NOSED BANDICOOT POPULATION AT NORTH HEAD SANCTUARY': ‘To help protect the Long-Nosed Bandicoot please observe the nine simple measures when accessing North Head Sanctuary...including #4... No machinery or loud tools to be used outside the hours of 7:30am – 4:30pm’.
Similarly, a recent publication by the Australian Academy of Science, ‘Noise Pollution and the Environment’, declared ‘Animals are altering their natural behaviours or relocating to avoid noisy areas’. Unfortunately, the 170 Long-Nosed Bandicoots cannot relocate themselves.
In relation to lighting, the Australian Government’s publication, National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife, declares ‘artificial light has the potential to stall the recovery of a threatened species... and where there are competing objectives for lighting, creative solutions may be needed to meet the requirements of threatened species conservation’.
The potential for significant light and noise disturbance from night-time events on North Head’s threatened species is compounded by the extremely confined nature of the habitat, and the overlapping human footprint between National Park and the Barracks Precinct.
In summary, HPG believes Polestar’s Night at the Barracks events in the current format present an unacceptable environmental risk and should be discontinued until an appropriately comprehensive Environmental Impact Study is undertaken.
Jill L’Estrange
President Headland Preservation Group
1 November 2022
Appendix 1.
Excerpt from HPG’s Response to North Head Sanctuary Draft Concept:
‘North Head / Car-rang-gel is a place of sanctuary and connection, an invaluable community destination rich with history’ (Joseph Carrozzi).
The vision for North Head Sanctuary must be informed by the legislated objects of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Act 2001. They are to Preserve, Conserve and Interpret these lands. The core values of North Head Sanctuary that must be preserved, conserved and interpreted are its Aboriginal, Cultural, Military, Environmental and Geographical values.
The Sanctuary concept for North Head is the fundamental vision detailed in the Trust’s Comprehensive Plan and Management Plan for North Head Sanctuary this includes a sanctuary for people as well as wildlife.
‘The natural environment forms the heart and soul of the sanctuary concept’ and is one of the main reasons visitors come to North Head’ (Management Plan p87)
‘A healing place and place of tranquility are ideas that have been generated and supported by the community’ (Comprehensive Plan p147)
‘North Head is also a place of importance for the Gayamaygal clan as a special place of ceremony, healing and burial’ (Comprehensive Plan p149)