Liz Jeremy, President NPA NSW
Our recent State Council meeting at Currawong in Pittwater brought together branch representatives from across NSW. While delegates worked through key strategies, the weekend was above all an energising, bonding celebration of local community action. Connecting people with nature through our bushwalking heritage remains central to NPA, even as we expand our focus to marine conservation. Council captured this evolving momentum: welcoming the new Northern Beaches Branch, establishing a dedicated Marine Group, and receiving an inspiring presentation on the Great Southern Forest project.
This energy across our branch network directly reinforces our broader work to secure NPA’s long-term future. In the face of membership decline and growing competition from other environmental NGOs across NSW’s crowded conservation landscape, Executive and State Council have formally signed off on our Future Directions Renewal Roadmap. Built on eleven interconnected areas, this roadmap guides our building of a sustainable and resilient organisation.
At its core, the roadmap focuses on foundation work, understanding what motivates people to join, stay, or leave so we can build deeper member relationships, clarifying our distinctive identity, guiding change management with care for our traditions, and modernising governance. It addresses member engagement and contemporary fundraising by creating meaningful pathways for deeper involvement, such as citizen science and marine monitoring, while evolving fundraising towards a relationship driven model built on legacy giving and donor stewardship. Finally, it strengthens capacity, profile, and influence by streamlining operations, elevating public leadership on Protected Areas and 30×30 targets, and deepening strategic partnerships. Member input and transparent updates will sit at the heart of this work as we roll out the roadmap together, keeping everyone closely engaged each step of the way.
Alongside this foundational renewal, NPA recently navigated the Commonwealth’s Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) carbon credit debate, weighing the nuanced mechanisms against NPA’s focus on permanently protecting native forests.
NPA remains an environmental non-government, member-driven community organisation and registered charity. Our mission is to secure the long-term protection of nature through National Parks, Marine Parks, and permanently protected reserves supported by complementary mechanisms. Protected Areas remain the most secure, effective mechanism for safeguarding biodiversity, recreation, and carbon storage. Creating national parks requires acts of parliament, so NPA works with all governments and oppositions regardless of political persuasion. We accept donations strictly under ATO rules to advance our charitable purpose. While we received philanthropic support for our GKNP and Great Southern Forest advocacy, these donations have not influenced NPA’s focus. Donors support us because they have confidence in our ability to advance park creation. External donors do not alter our primary purpose of safeguarding nature for future generations. That is simply what we do, and what our supporters expect.
As we look toward the months ahead, I am constantly inspired by how our organisation balances long-term strategic renewal with immediate, decisive conservation action. Whether strengthening our foundations, honouring our bushwalking roots while stepping into marine protection, or navigating complex national policy to secure the Great Koala National Park, our mission remains steadfast. Thank you to every member whose dedication makes this possible. It is your energy that drives NPA forward, and together, we will keep standing up for the natural places we love across NSW.