On Oct. 23, New South Wales lawmakers passed a bill to create the Great Koala National Park, advancing a long-running effort to protect forest habitat on Australia’s Mid North Coast. The NSW Parliament bill text says the measure will commence only on a later proclamation. As of Oct. 28, the state government described commencement as a future expectation before the end of 2026, not an event that had already happened. The park is not yet confirmed as legally in force or open to visitors. The vote moved the plan closer to a new protected landscape for koalas and many other species.
The government says the plan will add about 178,000 hectares of state forest and other Crown land to existing reserves. The combined area would cover more than 475,000 hectares between Kempsey and Grafton. The government estimates the broader landscape is home to around 12,000 koalas and more than 100 other threatened species. Those figures describe the broader landscape, not animals already gathered in one continuous park or proof that populations have recovered.
For conservationist Ashley Love, the vote followed more than a decade of campaigning. He told ABC News that he began lobbying after hearing from residents who said koalas seemed less common in the region than they once had been. The proposal grew from that local concern into a campaign for a reserve across forest and Crown land. Environmental groups have continued pressing for the area’s habitat to be protected.
The bill’s passage marks progress, but campaigners say it does not immediately fix every gap in the forest. Love told ABC that the reserve’s planned shape is fragmented, with sections that do not connect neatly. He called the outcome a big step forward while saying more work remains to protect additional areas nearby. The new designation is a starting point for managing a large landscape, not proof that koala numbers have already recovered.
The idea also developed over years of public debate. ABC reports that the state Labor Party took the proposal to voters in 2015 and 2019 before winning government in 2023. The current government says its park plan followed consultation with industry, community and Aboriginal groups. It says Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti people helped shape the park and will continue to guide its management. Eight Aboriginal rangers are expected to work through community-controlled organizations. Those are government descriptions and future commitments, not evidence of unanimous community agreement or already-filled jobs.
The proposed reserve is not only for koalas. The government says its protections would benefit more than 100 other threatened species and preserve cultural values, while people could continue activities such as camping, canoeing and mountain biking. It also expects the park to create opportunities for nature-based tourism and local businesses. Those are plans and projections from the government; their effects will depend on how the land is managed after the law takes effect.
There is also a transition for people whose work has depended on the forests. The government says its assistance package includes redundancy payments, retraining and help for affected businesses; it expects about 100 new national parks jobs and says some forestry employees may choose to move into suitable roles. The bill offers a possible pathway for workers who meet its conditions, not a guarantee of a job for every displaced employee. ABC reported that the timber industry had raised concerns about the effects of the logging moratorium already in place for the proposed park area. Those impacts will need to be addressed as the protection plan moves from legislation to day-to-day management.
The vote is therefore a milestone rather than a finished result. The government’s forecast is that the park will commence before the end of 2026, while the bill text leaves the start date to a later proclamation. Until the measure takes effect, the campaign’s next chapter will be about putting the protection in place, connecting habitat where possible and working with the people who live and work in the region.
Reader responses