| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| The Great Southern Forest will only allow for National Parks | There are seven different types of Protected Areas: Nature Reserves, National Parks, State Conservation Areas, Regional Parks, Karst Conservation Reserves, Aboriginal Areas and Historic Sites. There is no expectation that these existing reserve categories will be changed. The newly proposed additions will have a range of classifications dependent on what is most appropriate. For example, those areas of State Forest that are already declared as Flora Reserves may transition to Nature Reserves. Parks on peri-urban fringes or those with less intact ecosystems may be designated as Regional Parks where dog walking and other higher impact activities are allowed. |
| The Great Southern Forest will lock people out of the forest. | The proposal is about protecting public forests that local communities will continue to access. It encourages continued use of the forests for recreation, tourism and community access |
| The proposal includes private land. | The Great Southern Forest proposal relates to public land and does not involve acquiring any private land. |
| We need timber from the Southern Forests for furniture and construction material. | In 2023/24, 90% of the trees taken from public native forests around Eden were turned into export woodchips. In 2022-24 only 28% of the trees from public native forests across NSW were made into high quality saw logs. More than 91% of our timber comes from plantations. 87% of hardwood plantations are exported as woodchips. Hardwood plantations produce 3.5 times the timber produced from native forests. Existing plantations can meet our hardwood needs for sawn and engineered timber if we stop exporting as woodchip. |
| People will lose access for horse riding. | Horse riding is allowed in many National Parks, including several on the NSW South Coast. New locations and tracks that are suitable for horse riding can be assessed when and if new areas are added to the National Parks. |
| People will lose access for mountain biking. | Mountain biking is already allowed in many conservation-managed areas and is supported in the Great Southern Forest Proposal. Mountain biking in the current state forests is often impacted by closures and disruption from active forestry operations. |
| People will lose access for trail bikes. | Registered trail bikes can be ridden on public roads in both national parks and in state forests. This would not change. |
| People will lose free camping. | Many NSW National Parks include free, low-cost and managed campgrounds. The NSW Government is currently reviewing opportunities to expand free and low cost camping. |
| NPWS will close places like Yadboro Flat Campground. | NPA NSW asks for all existing campsites to stay open and for the NSW Government to explore opportunities to create new campgrounds in the Southern Forests. |
| People won’t be able to walk our dogs anymore. | The proposal recommends the use of the Regional Park rather than National Park reserve category in locations where low impact dog walking is already popular. |
| National Parks increase bushfire risk. | National Parks are actively managed for fire. Bushfire risk is influenced by weather, climate, fuel loads including logging slash and landscape condition. National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) are responsible for 75% of all hazard reduction burns in NSW and employs more than half of the state’s remote area firefighters. |
| National Parks are full of feral animals and weeds. | NPWS spent more than 10 times the amount on pest and weed management, per hectare, than Forestry Corporation NSW (FCNSW) did for its native forest estate in 2022/23. |
| Logging is good for gliders. | Logging is a known threat to gliders and many other species from the removal and modification of habitat. 174 fauna species in NSW, including gliders, are dependent on tree hollows to shelter and raise their young. Hollows can take 100-200 years to form. Forests need to be protected from logging to ensure existing hollows are retained and new hollows can develop. |
| If species are still here, forestry can’t be that bad. | Species can persist while populations decline. Conservation planning aims to prevent and reverse future declines. |
| The proposal will destroy local jobs and the regional economy. | Changing the management of public state forests from wood extraction to conservation will increase local tourism, recreation, hospitality, and nature-based businesses. The proposal seeks long-term regional benefits. The native forestry industry has been in decline with job losses occurring annually. Approximately 330 people are directly employed in native forestry in the Southern Region of NSW. NPA proposes a supported worker transition into the plantation sector, forest rehabilitation and other industries. |
| Forestry contractors and timber workers are not considered. | Forestry workers and their families make important contributions to regional communities. As well as transition support, the conservation movement supports transition to the plantation sector for contractors that cut and haul trees and mills that process timber. |
| If we don’t log our forests, we will illegally cut down trees from rainforest from overseas | Most of our native forests end up as low value woodchips that are exported overseas. NPA supports a change to the timber industry to supply sustainable timber products for the range of uses needed in NSW. |
| National Parks are poorly managed. | NSW National Parks provide world-class recreation, tourism, conservation, and cultural outcomes across NSW. This proposal should see a funding increase to NPWS. |
| This is just city-based environmentalists telling locals what to do. | The proposal has been developed by NPA’s South Coast branches and members of the community over many years. Previous iterations of the proposal were started by local groups over a decade ago. |
| There are already enough National Parks. | The Australian Government has committed to protecting 30% of land and 30% of the marine ecosystems by 2030. Habitats need to be adequately represented in the reserve system and protected ie wetlands, woodlands, forest, etc. About 10% of NSW is gazetted under the National Parks and Wildlife Act which is the second lowest of any state or territory in Australia. |
| This proposal is disrespectful to First Nations people. | The proposal recognises meaningful engagement with Traditional Custodians is essential and acknowledges the enduring connection First Nations peoples have to Country. The proposal is intended to begin a conversation about the future of these forests. The forests and waters of the Region are Aboriginal land; they always were and always will be. NPA supports First Nations custodianship through practical partnerships and formal legal recognition. Legal rights and involvement in land management across the forests may take many forms, including native title rights, Indigenous Land Use Agreements, declaration of Indigenous protected areas, and statutory joint management arrangements under the National Parks and Wildlife Act. Determining which of these mechanisms, whether individually or in combination, are most appropriate for the Southern Forests is primarily a matter for discussion between the NSW Government and First Nations communities. Joint Management of all NPWS Reserves is a goal of the NSW government. |
| We should just focus on Big Spotty or other individual sites. | The proposal takes a landscape-scale approach to protect connected habitats and ecosystems that includes iconic sites such as Big Spotty. |
| This proposal is already a done deal. | The proposal is being presented for the consideration of the community and government. It will be up to the NSW government to decide if any state forest are added to the reserve system, based on community support and environmental and financial obligations. |
| Where is the money coming from? | Funding arrangements would ultimately be determined by government. National Parks contribute significantly to regional economies. Native forest logging is a loss-making industry in NSW. The Hardwood division of NSW FCNSW has lost $105 million over the past 5 years. The Great Southern Forest has the potential to be funded by Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) generated under the Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) Method. Carbon credits generated for the Great Southern Forest are in the order of $100s millions and could fund ecological restoration, park management, employment and worker transition costs. |
| NPWS will close all the roads. | Many of the roads in the public dirt road system are already maintained by council who have to repair logging truck damage. Funding for forestry roading and bridges to take loaded logging trucks on public dirt roads can switch from Forestry Corporation to the Department of Transport, National Parks or Council as applies. Road access decisions would be considered through future planning processes. |
| Why can’t it remain State Forest with logging stopped? | A decision to stop logging does not necessarily change the underlying purpose of the land. State Forests remain available for future commercial harvesting if policies change. The Great Southern Forest proposal is about providing long-term protection and management certainty for forests |
| What will happen to beekeepers with apiaries in State Forests? | Existing apiaries are generally allowed to continue when State Forest land is transferred to NPWS. NPWS may permit the introduction of new beekeeping activities in a park only where it will clearly benefit the conservation of nature in the park. You must hold a permit or licence to conduct beekeeping on any public land. |
| Will I be required to pay for fencing when adjacent land becomes National Park? | NPWS construct and pay for boundary fencing for new National Parks. The landowner is responsible for routine maintenance, upkeep and repair of an existing fence. NPWS will cover costs of damage in the event of a natural disaster. |
| Can I still access my land given I currently need to go through the State Forest to do so? | Yes. Existing interest provisions of the NPW Act recognise rights of access granted prior to land becoming a park and provide for those rights to continue. |
