The history of the Great Koala National Park Proposal
It began with an idea …
Conservationists concerned about dramatically declining koala numbers across northeast NSW recognised that the most urgent priority was to permanently protect as much koala habitat as possible.
In 2012, four environment groups; the Bellingen Environment Centre, Nambucca Valley Conservation Association, Clarence Environment Centre and North Coast Environment Council collaborated with the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) to engage ecologist David Scotts to map and assess the status of Koala populations on the Mid North Coast between the Macleay and Richmond Rivers.
The Scotts Report identified two nationally significant koala populations in the region, one centred around Coffs Harbour-Guy Fawkes and the other in Bellinger-Nambucca-Macleay.
These ‘metapopulations’ were estimated to contain 20% of all wild koalas in NSW. The Great Koala National Park proposal has been designed to maximise the protection of these critically important koala populations.
Since then, studies by government scientists have repeatedly shown that the forests of the proposed Great Koala National Park contain the best koala habitat in NSW.
The troubled politics of koalas
The Commonwealth Government has formally listed NSW Koalas as vulnerable, while the NSW Government lists them as endangered, an even greater probability of extinction. Yet despite recognising the dire situation facing our Koalas, there has been a complete lack of political consensus about how best to secure the future of koalas in NSW.
During 2019-20 the Legislative Council conducted an inquiry into the future of koalas in NSW. The Koala Inquiry concluded that, without major changes to how koala populations and their habitats are protected, the species will become functionally extinct in NSW by 2050. One of the inquiry's key recommendations is the creation of the Great Koala National Park.
The NSW Coalition Government has not accepted this recommendation.
The parliamentary Bill
A parliamentary Bill (ie. draft legislation) was introduced by the NSW Greens in 2021 to establish the Great Koala National Park. The Bill was rejected by the NSW Government and Opposition.
The protection of Koala habitat has been a point of major disagreement within the NSW Government. In 2020 this sparked the infamous 'Koala Wars', when the former Nationals Leader responded to proposals to improve protections for koala habitat by threatening to leave the Coalition. Private Forestry legislation introduced in late 2022 shows that Koala policy continues to be highly contested between the Coalition partners.
NSW Labor has repeatedly announced that it supports the creation of a Great Koala National Park.
The extent to which 'their' Great Koala National Park correlates to this proposal remains unclear.
A community campaign
The GKNP campaign is championed by the National Parks Association of NSW and managed locally by a campaign management team. The team includes representatives of the Bellingen Environment Centre, Nambucca Valley Conservation Association, Gumbaynggirr Nation and key sponsor Affirmations Publishing House, plus a number of skilled volunteers overseeing volunteer coordination, merchandise, lobbying, social media, networking and fundraising.
A dedicated band of volunteers staff regular market stalls within the region, providing information and raising campaign funds through donations and merchandise sales.
Many other conservation organisations and businesses assist and support the GKNP campaign including the NSW Nature Conservation Council, North Coast Environment Council, North East Forest Alliance, Bob Brown Foundation, Clarence Environment Centre, WWF, NPA Coffs Coast Branch, Arnhem Clothing, Wandering Folk, Kombu Wholefoods and Paul Hilton Photography.
Public and business support for The Great Koala National Park proposal is wide and rapidly growing. Our thousands of registered online supporters are kept informed about the campaign via regular email updates.
Our volunteers engage with domestic and international tourists and are frequently met with expressions of disbelief that Koalas are still facing imminent extinction in NSW and that koala habitat continues to be destroyed at an escalating rate across the region.
Two ReachTEL polls conducted for the North Coast Environment Council in 2017 showed 70% of people surveyed supported the creation of new national parks to protect koalas from logging and land-clearing.
The community groups promoting the GKNP proposal also strongly support a job for job guarantee for timber industry workers directly affected by the creation of the GKNP.
