Native forest logging across NSW is environmentally and economically destructive and is driving the extinction of koalas. The native forests of the NSW Mid-North Coast are internationally significant and are home to around 20% of the state's wild koala populations. Communities from across the state celebrated when the new Labor Government committed to create the Great Koala National Park and allocated $80 million to make this happen, but we are months on from the election and the Forestry Corporation continues to log the area on an industrial scale, destroying koala habitat and causing irreversible damage.
The Government has said that they will not stop logging the forest and koala habitat while the National Park is being established. This is an untenable position. We cannot plunder forests, diminishing all of their important values and pushing koalas to extinction when we are planning to make them a Koala National Park. It is environmentally reckless and a wanton waste of public money.
We need to suspend logging in the Great Koala National Park and start the transition of those workers left in this industry.
There is an alliance of supporters within the NSW Parliament from all sides of politics standing with communities calling for a suspension of logging operations in the proposed Koala National Park. This growing alliance is listening to the calls of the community and is ready to support the government to take bolder and quicker action to protect the forests in the Great Koala National Park.
You can call the Premier’s office on 02 7225 6000 or the Minister for the Environment’s office on 02 7225 6020 to tell them directly that they must end logging native forests in the Great Koala National Park.