Timber harvesting paused as koala park outline revealed
Jack Gramenz |
A long-awaited plan to protect koala habitats is a step closer with the outline of proposed boundaries to reserve hundreds of thousands of hectares for wildlife, in a move critics warn will cripple the local timber industry.
The NSW government on Sunday revealed the proposed outlines of the Great Koala National Park, an election promise.
It will reserve 176,000 hectares of state forest and connect with existing national parks to create a 476,000-hectare reserve to protect more than 12,000 koalas in the state’s north.
The habitat to be protected also supports about 36,000 greater gliders and more than 100 other threatened species.
Timber harvesting within the proposed park’s boundaries will pause on Monday, with the plan facing criticism over its impact on the industry.
Premier Chris Minns says koalas are at risk of extinction in NSW and the park will seek to turnaround that “unthinkable” trajectory.
“We’ve listened carefully and we’re making sure workers, businesses and communities are supported every step of the way,” he said.
The government says the moratorium will impact six out of 25 timber mills in the region, affecting about 300 jobs.
NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said the park will have a crippling impact on industry.
“This will be a crushing blow for hard-working families, businesses and entire regional towns who will have their livelihoods wiped out overnight, while setting off a chain reaction through other industries including building, mining and energy,” he said.
Opposition North Coast spokesman Gurmesh Singh said the timber industry had suggested a “more manageable” 37,000ha option for the park, which had not been adopted.
“This decision will hurt our communities in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, ripping out valuable jobs that allow people to put food on the table,” Mr Singh said.
Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the government remains “committed to a sustainable forestry industry”.
“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,” she said.
Workers and their families will also be offered mental health, financial and legal counselling services.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service will receive an additional $60 million in funding to support the park’s establishment, on top of an $80 million injection in 2023.
The federal government is assessing whether the park could generate carbon credits, which the NSW government says the park’s final creation “is dependent on”.
Conservation groups have previously criticised alleged delays in the declaration of the protected habitat, which the government had promised to deliver by the end of its first term in 2027.
“Really important areas of the proposed new national park are being logged … effectively destroyed forever,” Wilderness Australia chair and former federal Labor minister Bob Debus warned in March.
But Australian Workers Union secretary Tony Callinan said the government was taking the time to receive input from stakeholders.
“We can have sufficient forestry area for koalas to prosper and we can have a viable, responsible timber industry,” he told AAP at the time.
AAP
