Giinagay! / Hello! 

We need to talk about the proposed Great Koala National Park, and why it is at risk of failing.

The GKNP is being established on the Country of the Gumbaynggirr Nation, who have been the traditional custodians of the lands within this proposed new reserve for thousands of years. 

The Park was envisioned to protect one of Australia’s most important natural and cultural heritage sites. But in the final proposal, the heart of the park has been ripped out. This petition seeks to restore the original vision for the Park.

The best koala habitat in Australia

The forests of Tucker's Nob and Pine Creek are potentially the richest and most important koala habitat remaining in Australia. But those forests have been redefined as plantation and removed from the proposed Park. They will be retained for permanent clear-fell logging. These two forests are the meeting point for the paths that koalas must take in moving between the many populations that live within the GKNP. Many other areas of plantation that are high in natural and cultural value and essential to the long-term recovery of koala populations have been excluded.

Sacred Gumbaynggirr Heritage

The government has undertaken a tokenistic, box-ticking consultation process with First Nations people on the establishment of the Park, and has not properly consulted with the Elders of Gumbaynggirr Nation. The result is that their wishes have been largely ignored. The Elders are devastated by the exclusion of ancient cultural sites such as the Yildaan Dreaming Track, ancient Tallowwood trees, the yams, and places critical to the totem animal the Dunggiirr (Koala) and the sacred waterways of the Water Rat and the Wood Duck.

Senior Lore Woman and Elder Aunty Alison is at the front lines of the efforts to halt logging in sacred areas adjoining the proposed Park. She was joined by Uncle Gary Williams and Uncle Allan Phillips in calling on the NSW Government to properly consult with the Gumbaynggirr Nation before the vision for the Park is finalised. The Gumbaynggirr have an obligation to protect their Country, and the government must not go ahead without their input and consent.

We are calling on the NSW Government to:

• Immediately stop all current preparatory activities for logging across all compartments of Tucker’s Nob and Pine Creek State Forests
• Commence a formal consultation process and undertake all subsequent cultural assessments with the Gumbaynggirr elders
• Ensure all FCNSW and DPI staff are directed by the Ministers for Heritage, Environment and Agriculture, and take no actions at a regional level without reference to the results of that consultation.
• To add Tucker's Nob, Pine Creek and other areas of plantation that hold important natural and cultural values to the Great Koala National Park.

We call on the NSW government to declare the park that the Gumbaynggirr, koalas and people of NSW want and deserve.