Months before the NSW election, the government has ditched a divisive bill that inflamed tensions within the coalition over the contentious issue of koala habitat.
The bill introduced last week by Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders threatened to revive the fierce debate over koala habitat and provide a gift to the Labor opposition and independent candidates in the lead-up to the March election.
The legislation would have cut red tape for people wanting to clear native forests on their private properties by removing local councils from the approval process and extending private logging approvals from 15 to 30 years.
