National parks in north-east NSW are responsible for injecting around $4.4 billion into the regional economy and supporting some 14,100 regional jobs, according to the latest visitation statistics from NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
The state forests in north-east NSW have been identified by the Australian Commonwealth as the highest national priorities for addition to the reserve system to satisfy the Global Biodiversity Framework target to protect 30 per cent of Australia by 2030.
Logging state forest not profitable
The NSW Forestry Corporation lost $32 million of taxpayers’ money logging the state’s public native forests to prop up a declining industry that is being out-competed by cheaper plantation timber. North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) is calling for the NSW government to stop logging state forests and protect them as national parks.
National parks mean jobs
‘Conservation groups have fought hard over many decades to create most of our national parks, so it is reassuring to see that our efforts have been good for the environment and regional economies,’ said Dailan Pugh, spokesperson for NEFA.
‘Visitation to national parks is rapidly increasing, over the past decade growing 25 per cent in north-east NSW. Creating new parks will increase future recreational opportunities.
‘It’s time we stopped logging and degrading our public native forests as it is in the community’s best interests to protect them and allow them to recover. Recovering native forests will provide improved visitor experiences, while restoring animal habitats, sequestering and storing CO2 out of harm’s way, reducing fire risk, increasing stream flows, and reducing flood peaks,’ Mr Pugh said.
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