The Minns Labor Government’s Great Koala National Park (GKNP) will obliterate the North Coast timber industry, directly impacting up to 5500 regional jobs, and creating severe shortages across NSW.
The NSW Nationals say the full 176,000 hectare footprint will further exacerbate the housing crisis, wiping out 40 per cent of the state’s future hardwood supply and forcing the price of construction materials through the roof.
Some timber mills between Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour have already been contacted by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, telling them there will be a moratorium on harvesting from today.
NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said it will have a cascading effect that will cripple multiple sectors.
“The Minns Labor Government made an election promise to deliver the Great Koala National Park while protecting the jobs of timber workers at the same time, but that was a straight out lie,” Mr Saunders said.
“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.”
Shadow Minister for the North Coast Gurmesh Singh said Labor has completely turned its back on the people who will be hit the hardest.
“The timber industry tried to work with the Minns Government on the Great Koala National Park in good faith, even putting forward a more manageable 37,000 hectare option, but the two year consultation process clearly didn’t mean anything,” Mr Singh said.
“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.”
Nationals Member for Clarence Richie Williamson said his region will be gutted.
“While Chris Minns and Penny Sharpe have looked after their jobs, they have allowed thousands of jobs in my region to go.”
“The failure to meet wood supply agreements will also impact so many things we rely on every day because no timber means no paper, no power poles, no transport pallets, no wooden frames and nothing to build the homes we so desperately need,” Mr Williamson said.
“You can’t just lock up a vital resource when there is enormous demand for it, particularly at a time where we need more houses than ever before.”
Nationals Member for Myall Lakes Tanya Thompson said timber mills will dry up, pushing skilled workers out of the region.
“The timber industry is the backbone of the North Coast but that didn’t seem to have any bearing on the Premier or the Environment Minister when they were making this cruel announcement,” Mrs Thompson said.
“These are real people who have already gone through months of angst and uncertainty, only to be told they’re out of a job, and there’s also a massive mental health toll that comes with that.”
The plan also ignores the Government’s own data, after assessments by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) showed abundant koala populations thriving in state forests that have been selectively harvested for decades.
Nationals Member for Oxley Michael Kemp said it was a choice based on politics not science.
“This decision completely ignores the fact the NSW timber industry is among the most sustainable and tightly regulated in the world. Unlike the myths by activists, it is the gold standard – renewable, recyclable, and essential in so many ways,” Mr Kemp said.
“Yet what we’re seeing here is Labor bending over backwards to pander to people’s emotions and ignore the science, it’s not based on any kind of evidence or logic and it’s silencing the voices of our regional communities.”
