The National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) welcomes Environment Minister Matt Kean’s pledge to stop the loss of threatened species in NSW national parks and reserves.
However, NPA is calling on Minister Kean to be true to his word and protect the multitude of threatened species in Kosciuszko National park, being pushed to extinction by unsustainable development and poor management policies.
“NPA was founded seventy years ago to advocate for the creation and protection of national parks. We are delighted that the Government has today remembered that national parks are one of the pillars of conservation” stated NPA President Dr Grahame Douglas.
“The enhanced statutory protections for threatened species and their habitats, along with on ground monitoring and threat abatement, will help lift our national parks from lines on a map to places where the conservation of biodiversity is given utmost priority.
“As long as Government follows through with sufficient funding, these initiatives will make NSW a genuine leader in conservation management on the international stage”.
NPA Executive Officer Gary Dunnett noted “It is very difficult to reconcile today’s wonderful announcements with the NSW Government’s disastrous track record in relation to our largest national park, Kosciuszko.
“The prohibitions on feral horse control, allowing Snowy 2.0 to clear hundreds of hectares of threatened species habitat and drive the Stocky Galaxias into extinction, and the recent proposals for urban development in Kosciuszko all threaten the survival of the biodiversity Minister Kean has pledged to protect.
“We join the Environment Minister in his commitment to ensure that no species becomes extinct in a national park.
“The Minister’s first challenge is to strip away the contradictory Government policies in respect to Kosciuszko National Park. That means excising the park from the Snowy Mountains Master Plan and focusing on its’ protection, not development.
“Once he sorts out Kosciuszko, the next challenge will be offering genuine protection to NSW Marine Parks” concluded Mr Dunnett.
ENDS
Media Contact: NPA Executive Officer Gary Dunnett (02) 9299 0000