After a long and bitter fight, conservationists have hailed the passing of legislation to create the Great Koala National Park as a historic win for koalas, forests and the communities that fought to protect them.
NSW parliament has now passed legislation to add more than 178,000 hectares of state forest and other Crown land to existing national parks, establishing a more than 475,000-hectare safe haven for koalas on the Mid North Coast.
The moment comes after more than a decade of championing from koala ecologists and conservation groups alongside First Nations and local communities, politicians and businesses.
‘This is a historic win for koalas, forests and the communities who have been fighting for their protection,’ said Dermot O’Gorman, World Wildlife Fund Australia’s CEO.
‘The Great Koala National Park will protect an estimated 12,000 koalas, 36,000 greater gliders and countless other native animals that call these forests home.
‘This is conservation at the scale nature needs. Protecting hundreds of thousands of hectares of connected habitat will give koalas and other endangered species room to recover and adapt as the climate changes.
‘We thank Premier Minns, Minister Sharpe and the NSW government for delivering on their promise to create the park and working to ensure it benefits local communities as well as wildlife.’
Caring for Country
Mr O’Gorman said it was great to see support for new Aboriginal ranger positions to help manage the park and care for Country. ‘We encourage the government to engage with the Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti communities about progressing the handback of public native forests.
‘We’re also pleased to see sections of the park will be open for recreational activities like bushwalking, camping, kayaking and mountain-bike riding.
‘Our hope is that everyone who visits the Great Koala National Park deepens their connection to Country, and leaves inspired to contribute to the care of koalas and the forests they depend on.’
Mr O’Gorman said the park can be a game-changer in the fight to save koalas from extinction.
‘More than 60 years ago, China began establishing nature reserves to protect giant pandas. Those efforts helped panda populations recover and ultimately move off the endangered species list.
‘We hope the Great Koala National Park can help put koalas on a similar path to recovery.’
Regeneration, jobs
WWF Australia says it has been advocating for the Great Koala National Park as part of its work to protect and regenerate the forests of eastern Australia and end native forest logging.
‘The government has provided a welcome support package for timber workers affected by the creation of the park,’ said Mr O’Gorman.
‘This will allow businesses and local communities to focus on forest restoration and building the sustainable jobs and industries of the future.’
Legislation strengthened
NSW Greens say the Great Koala National Park legislation represents one of the most significant conservation victories in the history of NSW, with the Greens having successfully strengthening the legislation to deliver a bigger and better protected park.
The Greens secured ten amendments in the Legislative Assembly to expand Bongil Bongil National Park, create a new nature reserve at Orara East State Forest, prevent the leasing of retained native state forests, restrict motor racing in five regional parks and strengthen ministerial accountability.
Greens MP and environment spokesperson Sue Higginson said, ‘This is an extraordinary achievement and a historic victory for our precious native forests, our threatened species and the communities that have fought for more than a decade to see this park become a reality.
‘The Great Koala National Park is now bigger and better protected because of the work of the Greens, the conservation movement and the communities who kept advocating for stronger protection right up until the passage of this legislation.
‘While today is a day for celebration, the passage of this legislation has taken far too long. The government allowed logging to continue inside the proposed park for more than three years after it was elected, while the very forests that were meant to be protected were being destroyed. We cannot undo that damage, and there is no justification for it having been allowed to happen.’
Unfinished business
Ms Higginson said, ‘There is also unfinished business with the Forest Bridge proposal that would protect critical habitat in Pine Creek and Tuckers Nob State Forests, strengthening the connection between Bongil Bongil National Park and the forests of the escarpment.
‘We fought to have these forests included and will continue to work with the community to secure their protection,’ she said.
‘The creation of the Great Koala National Park must now be followed by a commitment to protect the Richmond River koala stronghold through the Richmond River Koala Parks and North East Forest proposals, as well as the Great Southern Forest proposal.
‘Today we celebrate the Great Koala National Park and the people who made it possible. Tomorrow we continue the work of protecting the rest of our public native forests,’ Ms Higginson said.
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