Mr GREG PIPER: No. I have supported the creation of the Great Koala National Park for a long time. In November 2024 I wrote to the Government, along with other Independents, calling for action on its election commitment made to the people of New South Wales in response to the finding that koalas could be extinct as soon as 2050. This bill makes that commitment a reality. The area reserved by the bill for the Great Koala National Park is home to some of the best koala habitat in New South Wales. This reservation is set to help protect almost 20 per cent of the State's wild koala population, along with 66 threatened fauna species and 37 threatened flora species. To state the patently obvious, conserving this land is also good for the broader environment. It will protect old-growth forests and water catchments and increase climate resilience.
The establishment of the Great Koala National Park will significantly diminish native forest logging in New South Wales. I note that the member for Oxley is now in the chair. I reference his contribution, which was one of the most heartfelt I have seen in this Chamber for a long time. He raised a number of matters, including the challenge of whether members from more developed regional areas are aware of forestry practices. I certainly cannot claim that to the same extent as the member for Oxley.
I have been around forestry for quite a while. There was a significant forestry industry in Lake Macquarie—not to the same extent as in the electorate of the member for Oxley—but that has now gone. It was considered to be unsustainable, and certainly unprofitable, and the forestry industry there closed down. My family came from the Coffs Harbour area of the North Coast. I knew many people engaged in the forestry industry. My father loved timber. He loved building things. He built his own house. He loved looking at trees and working out what they were. He always got very upset because he believed that the forestry industry never fully valued the forest for what it was and thought timber was much more than just a log or so many footboards once it had been milled. He was certainly not opposed to the timber industry, but he wanted to see changes in it.
Maybe I am naive—and the member for Oxley will probably tell me that I am at some stage—but I always thought it was a great shame that many years ago there was not a greater investment in private native forests. It is not just individuals; the government agency, Forestry Corporation, has been lazy in the way it has addressed this issue. It should have pursued private native forests and looked at making the industry sustainable, rather than penetrating the national estate.
I am heartfelt in my views on the impact the park will have on communities in the electorates of the member for Oxley and the member for Clarence. I think we will also hear about similar impacts from the member for Myall Lakes. I will paraphrase the member for Cronulla, who said that if there is a risk to one or the other, on balance I would side with protecting koalas and their habitat. Considering the changes that have been made to this country in the relatively short period since European settlement, I have to say that forestry in New South Wales will not be sustainable or able to keep up with the rate of demand for materials into the future. My electorate is also experiencing a transition due to the loss of our coalmines and power stations. I do not want to overstate this, but the impact of the Great Koala National Park is somewhat equivalent to that huge disruption.
As this transition happens, it is important that support packages are available for communities. They are vital for workers, families and broader communities to adapt and thrive into the future. The Government will have to watch that. I do not believe the member for Clarence and the member for Oxley are just saying these things. If the support is not genuinely there, then it has to be adapted to make sure that those communities thrive. I know that the Oxley electorate, the greater Kempsey area in particular, has been doing it tough for quite some time. Overall, I support the Great Koala National Park. I support the Government's assistance package for affected workers and businesses, with the provisos that I just mentioned.
Investment in grants to support regional economic development, tourism and local business growth will be important. This type of strategic intervention, ranging from individual worker support to region-wide support, is necessary for the opportunities offered by the Great Koala National Park to be realised and to benefit the people of the Mid North Coast. I note concerns of environmental advocates, including about land vested in the Minister under part 11 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act. I have been advised by the Minister that this land is vested rather than reserved as a national park, because perpetual leases are still in place. I was further advised that the Government intends to acquire those leases and subsequently reserve the vested land as national park or nature reserve. I was assured that no mining or logging will occur on vested land. I ask the Minister to confirm that in reply.
I was also advised by the Minister that, as part of the bill, certain State conservation areas are being uplisted so that they receive greater protection as national parks. I welcome that development, which will provide greater protection for native habitat and wildlife. National parks serve an important role. They conserve unique and threatened wildlife and plants, shield fragile ecosystems from destruction and protect cultural heritage. They also provide the public a place to access and enjoy nature. I believe the Great Koala National Park will achieve that purpose. I, therefore, support its creation and the passage of the bill.