The National Parks Association of NSW (NPA NSW) welcomes Premier Chris Minns’ positive response to a delegation representing local businesses and recreational groups calling for the declaration of the Great Koala National Park region. The delegation included representatives of HWH Stables (horse riding), C Changed Adventures (Kayaking) and Coffs Skydivers.
‘More than a hundred businesses and recreational groups from the Coffs Harbour region have signed an open letter telling the NSW Government that the Great Koala National Park is not just good for Koalas, it will be a drawcard for regional tourism and a boon for local business’ stated NPA NSW President and local resident Liz Jeremy.
‘Tourism is so important for our region, and the more than a hundred businesses who signed onto the open letter are saying that the Great Koala National Park is the natural and cultural wonder that will put us on the national stage along with the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru’, Ms Jeremy continued.
The open letter highlights the urgency of permanently protecting 176,000 hectares of State Forest as part of the new national park. The open letter states ‘Every day the decision to create the Great Koala National Park is delayed, we lose more koalas, and the tremendous potential for tourism and conservation slips away’.”
ENDS
Media Contacts: (02) 9299 0000
Liz Jeremy, NPA Acting President
Dr Grahame Douglas, NPA Coffs Coast Branch President
Attachment 1: Open letter from businesses and recreational organisations