NSW Minns Labor Government announced the creation of the Great Koala National Park on Monday 7 September 2025. However, it may be too soon to broach the champagne as there are a number of conditions & caveats of concern & a timeline which may not see this park legally established before the 2027 NSW State Election

The Minns Labor Government came to power on 23 March 2023 for an initial four year term.

It was elected by the people of New South Wales on an election platform that included the creation of the Great Koala National Park. Indeed this was the third time Labor had taken the Great Koala National Park proposal to an election.

However, despite a recognised koala extinction crisis being underway, no sooner was the Minns state ministry sworn in than this assurance was put on the back burner.

State-owned Forestry NSW was allowed to continue at an increased pace to log native forests within the proposed boundaries of the Great Koala National Park to the detriment of biodiversity and endangered, vulnerable & protected native wildlife.

Now having passed the halfway point of its four year-term in government and facing another election in March 2027, the Minns Government appears to have suddenly realised that it would be politically unwise not to formally announce that at an unspecified date in the future it will legislate the creation of the Great Koala National Park - with qualifications and caveats attached to this announcement set out below in its media release.

MINNS SHARPE MORIARTY SAFFIN - MEDIA RELEASE - THE GREAT KOALA NATIONAL PARK - SUNDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2025

7 September 2025 at 07:04

OFFICIAL

Chris Minns Premier of New South Wales

Penny Sharpe Minister for Climate Change

Minister for Energy

Minister for the Environment

Minister for Heritage

Tara Moriarty Minister for Agriculture

Minister for Regional NSW

Minister for Western NSW

Janelle Saffin Minister for Small Business

Minister for Recovery

Minister for the North Coast

MEDIA RELEASE

The Great Koala National Park

Sunday, 7 September 2025

MAP: NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
Click on image to enlarge

The Minns Labor Government has today confirmed the next major step delivering on an election commitment to protect koalas in the wild, announcing the proposed boundary for the Great Koala National Park, alongside a comprehensive plan to support workers, industry and local communities.

On National Threatened Species Day, the NSW Government is announcing:

• The proposed boundary for the Great Koala National Park

• An immediate temporary moratorium on timber harvesting within this proposed boundary

• A comprehensive worker and industry support package

• $6m in community and small business supports for the mid-north coast region

• An additional $60 million to establish the park.

Without action, koalas are on track to be extinct in the wild in NSW by 2050. At the last election, we promised to take action to establish the Great Koala National Park — and today we are delivering on that commitment.

The park will reserve 176,000 hectares of state forest and connect with existing national parks to create a 476,000-hectare reserve – one of the largest in NSW.

This park will protect more than 12,000 koalas, 36,000 Greater Gliders and habitat for over 100 other threatened species.

The Government has imposed a temporary moratorium effective Monday 8 September 2025 on timber harvesting within the proposed park boundary.

The NSW Government has planned carefully and will stand with affected workers, businesses and communities every step of the way.

It’s why today we are announcing comprehensive assistance for impacted business and workers.

The immediate temporary moratorium will have an impact on 6 out of more than 25 timber mills in the region and approximately 300 jobs.

Assistance includes JobKeeper-style payments to support workers by covering salaries, and also financial assistance towards business operating costs.

As well as financial payments to cover salaries, workers and their families will have immediate free access to mental health, financial and legal counselling services and training support.

The Government has contacted every impacted mill and will now commence discussions with them about their long-term options and ensure appropriate support for workers.

The Government recognises there will be challenges as the transition begins and is committed to working with local communities every step of the way.

The NSW Government has also committed $6 million to support new opportunities for tourism and small businesses on the Mid North Coast, with the package to be developed in consultation with local communities to grow jobs and investment as the Great Koala National Park is established.

An additional $60 million in funding is being announced for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to support the establishment of the park. This is in addition to the $80 million announced in 2023.

The final creation of the park is dependent on the successful registration of a carbon project under the Improved Native Forest Management Method, which is currently moving through the Federal Government assessment processes.

Today's announcement follows extensive consultation with industry and community stakeholders and a comprehensive expert assessment process.

The Government thanks everyone involved for their input and patience during this process.

The Great Koala National Park will not end forestry on the North Coast. The Independent Forestry Panel is continuing to provide advice to the Government to inform the Forestry Industry Action Plan.

Information is available online, via www.nsw.gov.au/greatkoalanationalpark.

Quote attributable to Premier of NSW, Chris Minns:

“Koalas are at risk of extinction in the wild in NSW – that’s unthinkable. The Great Koala National Park is about turning that around.

“We’ve listened carefully and we’re making sure workers, businesses and communities are supported every step of the way.”

Quote attributable to Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe:

“The Great Koala National Park has been a dream for more than a decade. It will ensure koalas survive into the future so our grandchildren will still be able to see them in the wild.

“These amazing old-growth forests are among the world’s top biodiversity hotspots – home to more than 100 threatened species including greater gliders, the powerful owl and yellow-bellied gliders.”

Quote attributable to Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty:

“Our government’s priority is to fully support impacted workers with payments and services during this major change.

“That is why we will provide financial assistance to businesses we know will be impacted, so they can continue to pay their staff’s salaries and cover costs.

“We are committed to a sustainable forestry industry in NSW.”

Quote attributable to Minister for the North Coast and Small Business, Janelle Saffin:

“We are delivering on our election promise to deliver the Great Koala National Park for the North Coast.

“This will deliver the protection of our most precious and loved species, our koalas, that everyone in NSW wants to see protected; and the Greater Koala National Park will also provide an economic boon for locals and businesses alike.

“It is important to work together to ensure no one is left behind. We will be supporting impacted workers, businesses, communities and industry to maximise opportunities as we deliver the Great Koala National Park.

“I am committed to ensure that our forest workers and small business forest operators are supported economically and emotionally through this change.”

ENDS

BACKGROUND

Nature Conservation Council of NSW

New data reveals land clearing rates in NSW jump 40% across the state

MEDIA RELEASE

28th July 2025

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW, the state’s leading environmental advocacy organisation, is calling for urgent protection of rural bushland after Government data released today shows a dramatic jump in land clearing rates.

New South Wales’ latest land clearing data shows we are wiping out over 66,000 hectares of the Australian bush each year – that's equivalent to bull-dozing Sydney’s Royal National Park four times over.

“The jump in land clearing across NSW by 40% during Labor’s first year of governing is a major red flag. The Government needs to get moving on its election commitment to 'end runaway land clearing’,” Nature Conservation Council NSW CEO Jacqui Mumford said.

“Just last month the state’s foremost scientific scorecard – the State of the Environment Report – signalled that nature was getting worse across the board, with vegetation clearing a major driver of biodiversity decline.

“Destroying native bushland directly kills and displaces native animals, opens land up to erosion and weed invasion and decreases the health of the landscape.

“If we continue on the current trajectory, scientists predict NSW will lose nearly 500 wildlife species to extinction within the next century.

“The data released today is yet more evidence that NSW’s environmental laws are too weak.

“We’re calling on Premier Chris Minns to do as promised and strengthen habitat clearing laws urgently.”

Some of the highest land clearing rates are occurring in the western part of the state, which is home to the last populations of endangered malleefowl and critically endangered red-tailed black-cockatoos in NSW.

“Today’s findings are not surprising. When the previous government scrapped the Native Vegetation Act in 2016 we saw land clearing rates triple, and since then it’s remained out of control,” Ms Mumford said.

The data released today confirmed agriculture as the biggest driver of land clearing in NSW. In 2023, 77% of all clearing was due to agriculture – or 51,201 hectares.

It also showed that woodland and forest clearing on private land climbed particularly sharply.

“Tens of thousands of hectares of private land covered with habitat, that could have supported koalas and other species, were cleared in just 12 months, and the creatures that call those trees home are paying the price,” Ms Mumford said.

“Currently, agricultural businesses can bulldoze bushland, including koala habitat, without any independent assessment, due to regulation changes by the previous Liberal National Coalition Government. That needs to end.

“The Labor Government promised to rein in land clearing before the last election, but it's still a free-for-all.”

Background:

· The latest data produced by the NSW Government as part of its annual Statewide Land and Tree Study (SLATS) survey shows that 66,498 hectares of NSW bush was destroyed across the state in 2023 through agriculture, native forestry and development. This is a 47% increase from 45,252 hectares cleared in 2022.

· Based on average yearly land clearing rates, since coming to Government in March 2023 around 192,525 hectares of native vegetation may have been cleared by private landowners.

· At the 2023 state election the Labor Government made commitments to: ‘stop excess land clearing, strengthen environmental protections and reform the biodiversity offset scheme’. These commitments are also articulated in their Planfor Nature.

· In 2023 77% of all vegetation cleared was on agricultural lands, 15% due to private native forestry and 8% attributed to infrastructure development.

· Clearing native vegetation directly kills and displaces native animals. Over time, the effects of habitat fragmentation and disturbance can lead to invasion by weeds and further deteriorate the condition and habitat values of the remnant vegetation.

· According to the latest NSW State of the Environment Report report cards, of the 1000 plant and animal species listed as threatened in NSW only 50% are predicted to be living within 100 years time (i.e. 500 species will be extinct in 100 years).

ENDS

 

KOALA EXTNICTION CRISIS STATE OF PLAY 2025: Dean Caton's felling koala feed trees in Tuckers Nob State Forest from 9:00 am Monday 9th December 2024 and 6:00 pm Monday 30th June 2025

 

In 2020, the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Koalas found that koalas will become extinct in the wild before 2050 if urgent action isn't taken to protect their habitat. 2050 is a mere 25 years away......

Forestry Corporation, 9 December 2024

Partial closure of Tuckers Nob State Forest

NO ENTRY

FORESTRY REGULATION 2022 - SECTION 6 & 7 CLOSURE OF PART TUCKERS NOB STATE FOREST

  

FORESTRY CORPORATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES HAS RESERVED THE AREA DESCRIBED BELOW AS 'THE CLOSED AREA' FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF ITS CONTRACTORS, SUPPORT AND SUPERVISING STAFF CARRYING OUT HARVESTING OPERATIONS DURING THE PERIOD DESCRIBED BELOW AS 'THE CLOSURE PERIOD'.

THE ENTRY OF ALL PERSONS INTO THE CLOSED AREA DURING THE CLOSURE PERIOD, OTHER THAN PERSONS AUTHORISED IN WRITING BY THE FORESTRY CORPORATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES, IS HEREBY PROHIBITED.

PERSONS ENTERING INTO OR REMAINING IN THE CLOSED AREA DURING THE CLOSURE PERIOD WITHOUT FORESTRY CORPORATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES' PERMISSION ARE LIABLE TO PROSECUTION, MAXIMUM PENALTY $2,200 PER OFFENCE.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CLOSED AREAS

That part of Tuckers Nob State Forest No. 612 enclosed by the boundary commencing at the State Forest boundary adjacent to the intersection of Gleniffer Road and Roses Road (marked point 'A' on the map); then moving in a clockwise direction around the closure area, in a generally south-easterly direction following the State Forest boundary running parallel to the Gleniffer Road to the intersection with 27/1 Trail (marked point 'B' on the map) NB. Gleniffer Road remains open; then in a generally westerly direction following 27/1 Trail to the intersection with an un-named drainage line (marked point 'C' on the map), then in a generally south-westerly direction following the un-named drainage line to the State Forest boundary (marked point 'D' on the map), then in a generally north-westerly direction following the State Forest boundary adjacent to the intersection of Gleniffer Road and Roses Road (marked point 'A' on the map).

DESCRIPTION OF THE CLOSURE PERIOD

Between 9:00 am Monday 9th December 2024 and 6:00 pm Monday 30th June 2025

BY ORDER OF FORESTRY CORPORATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES, by its delegate:

Dean Caton

REGIONAL MANAGER - NORTHERN

FCNSW COFFS HARBOR [sic]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmnP7MQ-Uzc

 KoalaMashUp

Tim Cadman

Jan 17, 2025 #Koala #NSWForestry #NSWGovernment

A composite of two nights of drone flying over compartments 10, 12 and 18 in Tuckers Nob State Forest - all areas zoned 'plantation' by #NSWForestry, and slated for clearing. 

The results shows that this is one of the densest populations of wild #Koala in New South Wales. 

Yet these forests are excluded from the #NSWGovernment's so-called 'Great Koala National Park - which is why we need a #GreaterKoalaPark - free from logging, because #PlantationsAreHabitatToo!

 

PROPOSED GREAT KOALA NATIONAL PARK IN 2025: Under Minns Government the rate of logging inside the park has increased and state-owned Forestry NSW has already logged the homes of 500 koalas and another 37 threatened species. This carnage has to stop now.

 

Nature Conservation NSW, 10 January 2025:

Media Alert: Fulfil your promise Chris Minns: Protect the great koala national park forests now!

What: Rallies at Coffs Harbour and Pennant Hills Sydney outside the offices of the Forestry Corporation.

When: Monday, 13th January, 10am

Where: Coffs Harbour, cnr of Park and Gordon Sts

Sydney: Cnr Castle Hill Rd and Cumberland Forest Way, West Pennant Hills

Why: Creating the Great Koala National Park has been an ALP promise since 2015. Almost 2 years after getting elected, the Minns government has completed their assessment of the park and identified an industry restructuring package but has still not announced their decision on the park boundaries.

Since they were elected, the rate of logging inside the park has increased compared to under the Coalition. More than 60%. The logging is continuing with new areas being opened up. How much longer will they let the promised Park be logged?

Are they going to allow the Forestry Corporation to log the heart out of the promised park?

According to their own data the Minns Government has already logged the homes of 500 koalas and another 37 threatened species. This carnage has to stop now. These forests also hold the soils together, sequester and store carbon, act as natural water reservoirs and could provide boundless opportunities for recreation, education and appreciation.

31 groups have signed on to a letter to the NSW Government demanding they fulfil their promise to create a world class Great Koala National Park NOW

The statement, background and signatories can be found here.

Near chlamydia-free, genetically diverse & unique Koala community found in Fernbrook area of northern New South Wales

 

Yahoo! News, 9 December 2024:

Australian wildlife researchers have made an incredibly rare discovery in the bush that they've branded "such an exciting result" for koala conservation.

Thanks to assistance from a "poo-sniffing English springer spaniel" named Max, a new community of koalas at Fernbrook, inland of Coffs Harbour, has been found that appear to be both chlamydia free and genetically different — an "increasingly rare" feat in NSW......

"More surveys need to be done, but it appears these koalas at Fernbrook are very special. They can still breed and produce future generations with higher climate resilience."

.....

Why is it so significant to find both chlamydia-free and genetically diverse koalas in NSW?

Surveys by Max and the team from Canines for Wildlife showed that the broader koala population in Coffs Harbour and Bellingen has low levels of chlamydia and high genetic diversity overall.

Genetic diversity enhances a population's ability to resist diseases and in koalas, a lack of it makes them more susceptible to infections.

Urban development, agriculture, and deforestation have broken up koala habitats into smaller, scattered patches, limiting their ability to travel and find unrelated mates. Koalas often remain in isolated areas, leading to a reduced genetic pool and increased inbreeding over generations. The Fernbrook results "have conservationists celebrating" and calling for a "halt to logging in state forests" that contain vital koala food and habitat trees. While the group of 10 koalas in Fernbrook are on private properties and are not threatened by logging — the wider population around Coffs Harbour is.

Canines for Wildlife were recruited to survey for koalas across 115 sites in the Coffs Harbour and Bellingen areas, ranging from coastal regions to the Dorrigo Plateau nearly 1,000 metres above sea level.

"We learned this population is healthy, has high genetic diversity and relatively low levels of chlamydia. So this is a really important population. If we’re going to save koalas we need to wrap healthy populations like this in cotton wool and protect them," Blanch said.

"It beggars belief that the tree homes of koalas continue to be knocked down and destroyed. Logging should stop right now in the area being assessed for the Great Koala National Park and in plantations where koalas live."

What's next?

A total of 109 poo samples were collected in 2022-2023 and sent for genetic testing at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Lynn Baker from Canines for Wildlife said this new colony must be protected.

"For a koala researcher this is such an exciting result," she said. "We knew the koalas at Fernbrook looked different. They are a lot furrier and darker in colour than their compatriots on the coast. They look like cold weather koalas.

"But if this is a genetically different and a chlamydia-free group then it’s important that they are protected. There are not many areas left in NSW that have distinct groups of [healthy] koalas.

"The burning question is are these koalas isolated to the habitat on these properties or are they connected to other chlamydia-free koalas that we haven’t sampled yet?"

Canines for Wildlife is hoping to do further surveys in the areas surrounding Fernbrook to help answer the question.

Since 2001, koala numbers in the state have decreased by 33 per cent to 61 per cent, driven by habitat destruction, climate change, disease, and urbanisation. The devastating 2019–2020 bushfires alone killed at least 6,400 koalas.

Read the full article at https://au.news.yahoo.com/incredibly-rare-discovery-in-aussie-bush-by-sniffer-dog-like-striking-gold-040624856.html

STOP state or private contract logging within and around the proposed boundaries of the NSW Great Koala National Park

 Pine Creek Choir

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuo7ZZ5NZ9A

"If the government holds out 20 years… we’ll hold out one day more!" [Meredith Stanton, Clouds Creek NSW, X /Twitter 1 November 2024]

Cartoons of the Week

David Pope

David Rowe

Cathy Wilcox

WORLD WILDLIFE FUND 2024: AUSTRALIA SCORES THREE Fs ON THREATENED SPECIES REPORT CARD

World Wildlife Fund - Australia

THE 2024 THREATENED SPECIES REPORT CARD

4 September 2024

*SELECTIVE EXCERPTS*

In September 2022, WWF-Australia launched its first Threatened Species Report Card, which provided a simple but scientifically robust way to track and communicate Australia’s progress in recovering our threatened species.

The methods behind the report card were developed in collaboration with conservation scientists from the University of Queensland. After the 2022 launch, the methods were improved through a peer review process, and published as a scientific paper in an international journal (Wardet al. 2024).

We have now refreshed the report card grades with 2024 data and have compared them with the 2022 results outlined in the scientific paper.

WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE OUR 2022 REPORT CARD?*

• 163 species have been newly listed as threatened

• 40 species have had their threatened status upgraded, e.g., from Vulnerable to Endangered

• 3 species have had a genuine improvement in their threat status, because the rate of their decline has slowed or stopped. These are:

o The Red Knot (Calidris canutus) which moved from Endangered to Vulnerable

o The Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), which moved from Critically Endangered to Vulnerable

o The Northern Siberian Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica menzbieri), which moved from Critically Endangered to Endangered

 

• There have been no new extinction listings since our 2022 Report Card. However, 15 species have been listed as extinct or extinct in the wild in the last 10 years.

*Includes listing changes between 8 March 2022 and 30 June 2024.

GRADING

We calculated a score between 0 and 1 for each indicator, where 1 is the ideal scenario. We then assigned grades using equal intervals, where:

• an A grade is greater than 0.83,

• a B grade is 0.67 to 0.82,

• a C grade is 0.5 to 0.66,

• a D grade is 0.33 to 0.49,

• an E grade is from 0.17 to 0.32, and

• an F grade is less than 0.16.

As the reader will observe, in this report Australia received a shockingly bad overall assessment:

Funding - FAIL/F Grade

Recovery Plans - FAIL/ F Grade

Protection - LOW PASS/ C Grade

Threat Status Improvement - FAIL/ F Grade

Persistence - SECOND CLASS PASS/ B Grade

Full WWF The 2024 Threatened Species Report Card (released September 2024) can be read & downloaded at:

https://assets.wwf.org.au/image/upload/f_pdf/file_Threatened_Species_Report_Card_Technical_Report_2024

AUGUST 2024: a reminder to motorists that the endangered Coastal Emu has new chicks moving across paddocks & local roads in the Clarence Valley

The Daily Examiner online, 21 August 2024:

Ryan Walsh took this photo of endangered coastal emus near Grafton in the Northern Rivers.

There’s less than 50 coastal emus left on the planet – all living in a relatively small area of the Northern Rivers – so it’s no wonder locals are quite protective.

As young chicks start to emerge at this time of year, adding slightly to the endangered population, the community is on high alert – sharing updates and urging motorists to slow down.

Ryan Walsh has shared a dramatic image of three of the rare emus snapped on McIntyres Lane, at Gulmarrad near a highway overpass north of Grafton in the early evening. Mr Walsh warned motorists to keep a look out for the large birds on the move.

The emus cover large distances to forage and often cross roads in their travels, where they face a stark risk of being struck by cars and other vehicles.

“Yeah, the locals are very protective because we don’t want to lose our beautiful emus,” Mr Walsh said.

“There is one emu sign on the approach to the bridge – it’s dangerous, as coming from the opposite side you wouldn’t have seen them until you were on them.”

Clarence Valley Council urges landholders to install emu-friendly fencing that can help the last of the endangered animals survive and hopefully thrive.

Clarence Valley Council collaborates with the state government and several community groups including Coastal Emu Alliance on programs to try and save the coastal emu from extinction.

Work includes a citizen science tracking project and a campaign pushing for the use of more emu-friendly fencing......

Coastal emus remaining in the Clarence region are generally found between Red Rock and Evans Head, with a key hotspot in the Brooms Head area.

A coastal emu with chicks. Picture: Caring for Our Coastal Emus / Clarence Conversations

As part of council efforts to warn motorists, signs have been placed across the region. There’s even two large solar powered flashing lights using radar to detect and warn approaching vehicles installed along a key seven kilometre stretch of Brooms Head Rd.

While residents do their best to safeguard the emus, chicks have been emerging after being ‘brooded’ (basically sat on gently to keep warm, as smaller birds do too) for eight weeks by the males, who will continue to raise the chicks.

Locals like Lou Law noticed the first chicks of the season emerging this week and shared rare photos of one male – “Kevin” – and his tiny brood to keep the community in the loop.

“The kids are excited to see Kevin with his babies – they are so tiny you have to zoom right in to see them,” Ms Law posted on social media.....

And Northern Rivers koalas continue to die on our roads.....

"Your paws in my hands...my reality as koala rescuer." 

A video by LinguIna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIzHTHuIJ7Q

Echo, 20 August 2024:

Many locals and kids from Byron Bay and Suffolk Park were devastated at the news that Moji, the koala they had all been watching and caring for over the past several months, was found dead on the road this morning.

‘The person who hit Moji didn’t stop to see if he was ok, two young girls kindly moved him off the road and called WIRES,’ said Mark from WIRES. [my yellow highlighting]

Moji the koala is another victim of careless driving. Photo supplied

Moji had taken up residence in trees at the golf club but the scattered feed trees meant he and other koalas have to cross the road to ensure they can get enough to eat.

‘Many locals and kids who used to stop on their bikes and watch him,’ Deb Pearce from the Byron Youth Service (BYS) told The Echo.

‘This morning we received a call about a deceased koala opposite Crystalbrook,’ explained Mark. ‘I quickly rushed over to discover it was Moji. He had been hanging around the golf course for the last couple of months, hadn’t seen him for a while and today he obviously tried to return.

‘I’m absolutely gutted, me and Melissa, a fellow wildlife rescuer, have put many hours trying to keep him and a couple other koalas safe in the area. Bangalow Koalas kindly kept their VMS signs up all this time to warn drivers to slow down. Thanks to the drivers who drove with care and those who weren’t hopefully you can see what it means to those who do care and drive with more caution.’ ......

North East Forest Alliance & Environmental Defenders Office fight on to protect the continued existence of native forests and the biodivsersity they contain

 

Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), March 2024 Newsletter, 29 February 2024:

Hope for NSW forests: Court decision upholds community’s right to challenge native forest logging

In the shadow of claims made by the NSW Forestry Corporation, communities have been led to believe that they have no rights to challenge decisions about industrial logging in NSW native forests or seek action over unlawful conduct when logging destroys hollow-bearing trees and critical habitat for threatened species.

But two recent court decisions have shattered those claims after EDO’s client successfully ran an argument which hasn’t previously been tested in the courts. After 20 years of resistance by the Forestry Corporation, it is now legally recognised that communities with a special interest have the right to hold the state-owned logging agency to account over its forestry operations in native forests.

NSW forests are remarkable for their diverse ecosystems, unique biodiversity and cultural significance. Encompassing semi-arid woodlands to lush rainforests, these globally recognised forests are home to an extraordinary array of plant and animal life, much of which is unique to the region.

Protecting our forests is one of the most important things we can do to manage climate change, preserve our precious biodiversity and prevent further species extinctions. Yet Forestry Corporation NSW logs around 30,000 hectares of state forest every year. Sadly, many of these forests are logged to be turned into low-value products, such as woodchips, that are exported to make cardboard and toilet paper.

Weak laws failing our forests

NSW Forestry Corporation is the state-owned logging agency that undertakes industrial logging in public native forests, including in nationally important koala habitat and areas that are still recovering from the catastrophic impacts of the 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires. It is entrusted with managing two million hectares of public forests, yet in the past three years alone, Forestry Corporation has been fined 12 times for illegal logging activities. There are 21 investigations still pending. ¹

Forestry Corporation operates under bilateral agreements with the Federal Government, called ‘regional forest agreements’, or RFAs, which allow logging to bypass normal federal environmental scrutiny. No other industry benefits from such an allowance. Under the current system of RFAs, threatened species such as the koala, greater glider and gang-gang cockatoo are being driven to extinction and the ecosystems and landscapes that we depend on are being destroyed at an astounding rate.

For some 20 years, Forestry Corporation has asserted that the community cannot seek to challenge its public native forestry operations. On 20 November 2023, the NSW Land and Environment Court rejected that position.

Court decision confirms community right

The EDO represented the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) in mid-2023 challenging logging approvals in Myrtle and Braemar State Forests. The forests were severely damaged by the ferocious Black Summer Bushfires, which wiped out an estimated 70 per cent of the local koala population.

While NEFA was not ultimately successful, the court confirmed for the first time that the Forestry Act does not prevent persons with a special interest from taking legal action over forestry operations in NSW, including disputing logging approvals.

This is particularly important as NSW laws explicitly attempt to reduce the community’s right to challenge Forestry Corporation conduct regarding industrial native forest logging.

Forestry Corporation also argued that the court cannot judicially review harvest and haul plans because all forestry operations had already been approved by the relevant Ministers in the overarching regulation, the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (CIFOA). However, the court again rejected that position and found that such operational plans are open to challenge.

Forest groups fight on after disappointing court decision

Building on the NEFA decision, South East Forest Rescue (SEFR) then took a step further with court action in January 2024. SEFR is seeking an injunction to stop Forestry Corporation from conducting any forestry activities in certain state forests until adequate surveys for greater, yellow-bellied and squirrel gliders have been performed. SEFR is being represented by XD Law.

SEFR argued that Forestry Corporation is breaking the law by not performing adequate surveys for den trees and necessary exclusion zones around den trees are not being implemented. It is the first time in 25 years that the Forestry Corporation has been brought to court by citizens for failure to comply with native forestry regulations, in particular failure to conduct adequate surveys for gliders.

Drawing from the findings in the NEFA decision, her Honour found that persons with a special interest can also seek to enforce the conditions of the CIFOA against Forestry Corporation.

These two decisions mark a significant departure from the status quo of the past 20 years and set important precedent for the community to hold the Forestry Corporation to account over native forest logging.

President of NEFA, Dailan Pugh said regarding NEFAs legal challenge:

“While NEFA were disappointed that our legal challenge to the logging of important Koala populations in Braemar and Myrtle State Forests was not successful, it’s promising that the case did establish that NEFA have the civil right to enforce NSW’s logging rules, opening a door to litigation we thought had been shut to us since 1998.”

“We thank the EDO for the immense effort they put into this case and creating future opportunities for NEFA, and other groups, to challenge the culture of complacency around logging fostered by lack of public accountability.”

1 Register of Crown forestry investigations (nsw.gov.au)