NSW government announces end of logging in ‘koala hubs’ at Coffs Harbour
The NSW government has sensationally announced an immediate end to logging at a number of areas around Coffs Harbour as it pushes ahead with contentious plans to create a Great Koala National Park. See the latest.
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Against a backdrop of people locking themselves onto forestry machinery and criminal court cases, the state Labor government has announced an immediate end to logging at a number of areas across the Coffs Coast.
The government has taken its first concrete step toward the creation of a Great Koala National Park on the Mid North Coast, a pre-election commitment.
The ‘no logging’ order applies to 106 ‘koala hubs’ - areas where the government says there is strong evidence of multi-generational, high-density populations of the iconic animal.
The government will now enter into urgent talks with NSW Forestry Corporation which manages and harvests a number of state forests in the area.
“The creation of the Great Koala National Park is essential to saving koalas from extinction in NSW,” Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said.
“The government is taking serious steps towards its creation and will work closely with the community, Aboriginal organisations and industry as the areas for inclusion in the park are assessed.”
Today’s announcement has been greeted by conservation groups, but will be scorned by many in the state electorate of Coffs Harbour which has consistently rejected the creation of a Great Koala National Park at the ballot box.
The push for the park has been taken to past elections by both the Greens and Labor, but Coffs and the neighbouring seat of Oxley to the south - which will also be impacted - has voted strongly for The Nationals.
While the work to establish the park is carried out, the government will implement a halt to timber harvesting in koala hubs within the assessment area for the park.
Operations were paused on September 1 by agreement with Forestry Corporation.
The 106 koala hubs cover more than 8400 hectares of state forest.
Koala hubs cover approximately five per cent of the Great Koala National Park assessment area, but contain 42 per cent of recorded koala sightings in state forests in the assessment area since 2000.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) has applauded the development.
“This is a historic step forward by the Minns Government,” NCC acting CEO Brad Smith said.
The NCC released analysis in June which claimed that 17.7 per cent of state forest in the area slated for the Great Koala National Park proposal was to be targeted for logging over the next 12 months.
Critically, the analysis found that logging was planned in areas the NSW government has identified as the most important areas of koala habitat, including Wild Cattle Creek, Clouds Creek, Pine Creek and Boambee state forests.
“What we’ve seen today is Ministers Sharpe and (Tara) Moriarty recognise and respond to the community who want to protect their local forests, koalas and First Nations heritage from the devastating impact of logging,” Dr Smith said.
The NSW government said it would immediately open talks with Forestry Corporation regarding the logging cessation and to determine timber supply options.
“The government commits to working closely with the industry to develop a blueprint for the future timber sector that accommodates both the park and the production of timber products,” Agriculture Minister Moriarty said.
In May, the Victorian Labour government announced native timber harvesting in the state would end by the close of 2024.
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