Mr MICHAEL KEMP (Oxley) (17:27): I was just in the Premier’s office with one of my constituents, and he was genuine and gracious. I thank him for that. But I draw the attention of the House to 2021, when Premier Chris Minns himself stated that “transparency and integrity are the very least New South Wales deserves from the Government”. Now is the moment for the Premier to stand by his own words. Along with my constituents, many of whom work in the native forest industry, I call on the Minns Labor Government to transparently and openly explain the process surrounding the proposed Great Koala National Park. In particular, I call on the Government to explain its engagement of Mandala Partners, a consultancy that was, astonishingly, established just six months before being handed a major contract to evaluate the economic and social impacts of the park.
How can we trust the integrity of a report from a company with such limited experience? Mandala Partners, founded in June 2023, had completed no substantial portfolio projects at the time it was contracted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. The report lacks transparency. It omitted clear terms of reference, scientific data and detailed cost analysis. Even more concerning is the conflict of interest at play. CEO of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation Lyndon Schneiders is as green as they come. He is a conflicted former CEO of the Wilderness Society, whose partner drafted Labor’s policy for the very park we are discussing. This same Lyndon Schneiders now sits on the park’s community panel, alongside other environmental non‑government organisations with a long history of bias against the forestry industry. The lack of impartiality is glaring. As if they represent our community. Adding to the lack of trust is my own encounter with Atticus Fleming, the director of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, in one of my first official meetings after being voted in. One minute after meeting him, he laughed in my face when I told him I was a National Party member. Is this the behaviour we expect from a senior public servant? Is this the kind of leadership that instils trust and integrity in a government process?
The Mandala report presented to the industry advisory group in October is filled with flaws. It fails to consider the intricate structure of wood supply agreements on the North Coast. Mandala’s assessment crudely reduced timber volumes by 40 per cent without accounting for species preferences, contractual caps and floors, or the variable economic impact on sawmills. This is not just oversight; it is downright negligence. Forestry Corporation of NSW holds the data needed for an accurate evaluation, but Mandala Partners never requested it. Maybe it was deliberate, or maybe they were not up to the quality of what our community expects. If this Government were committed to transparency and accuracy, it would have ensured that Mandala consulted the appropriate stakeholders and experts. Instead, the process was controlled by National Parks, under the direction of Atticus Fleming, and lacked formal meeting notes or recorded minutes. You have to be kidding.
We must ask why Mandala Partners were selected. The Government’s procurement guidelines mandate transparency, ethical conduct and strict management of conflicts of interest. Yet while evaluating the park, Mandala Partners was simultaneously working on a project commissioned by the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation to promote forest carbon projects aimed at shutting down the native forest industry. This dual role undermines any confidence in the objectivity of its findings. The Minns Labor Government must explain how this is not a clear conflict of interest. The Premier owes the people of New South Wales a transparent and public account of this process.
The stakes are high. Mandala’s flawed analysis estimates that the park would strip 40 per cent of the timber supply on the North Coast. Yet its report ignores the economic fallout for sawmills, the ripple effects on regional communities and the long-term damage to hard-earned livelihoods. Our forestry industry is one of the most sustainable in the world. We plant, harvest and replant, ensuring that the same land continues to produce timber while sequestering carbon.
In fact, Department of Primary Industries scientist Dr Brad Law’s peer-reviewed study found koala occupancy of 70 per cent in the hinterland forests of north-eastern New South Wales, whether State forest or national park. The Labor Government’s own Great Koala National Park study found 12,111 individual koalas within the assessment area, at 63 per cent occupancy, further supporting Dr Law’s research. This proves categorically that responsible forestry and wildlife conservation can coexist, or that State forests are much better at conserving koalas. But Mandala’s report disregards this science. Instead, it aligns with an ideological agenda pushed by city-based activists and environmental NGOs who neither understand nor respect the realities of regional life.
This is not just about trees. It is about people, jobs and trust. It is about the environment. We need the best scientific, data-based solution. The process surrounding the Great Koala National Park is indicative of a broader problem in the Minns Labor Government. It is a lack of transparency, a disregard for proper consultation and a failure to uphold the standards of integrity the people deserve. The Premier should follow his own advice and provide the transparency and integrity he promised, prove to us that this process is not a sham and address the conflicts of interest and glaring omissions in Mandala’s report. He cannot use it as evidence in his decision‑making unless it is transparent.
