Workers have been “shafted in both directions” by the Minns Government’s handling of the Great Koala National Park (GKNP), according to Steve Dobbyns from Forest & Wood Communities Australia (FWCA), who warns the decision will mirror costly, city‑driven policies seen in Victoria and Western Australia.
Dobbyns said the government’s plan to include the full 176,000 hectares of state forest in the GKNP would threaten more than 5,700 jobs in the sustainable native forest industry on the NSW north coast — while also limiting workers’ compensation claims for psychological injury.
“Workers have been shafted in both directions by Minister Sharpe,” he said. “This backroom deal to include the full assessment area in the GKNP will not only threaten more than 5,700 jobs reliant on our sustainable native forest industry on the north coast, but also limit claims by all NSW workers with a psychological injury. It could be viewed as a twin‑edged sword for those workers who are now out of a job because of the decision.”
He alleged the decision stems from an agreement between Environment Minister Penny Sharpe — “the architect of the flawed GKNP assessment process” — and Independents Alex Greenwich, Michael Regan and Jacqui Scruby, in exchange for support on stalled workers’ compensation reforms in the Lower House.
Dobbyns drew parallels with Victoria’s closure of its native timber industry, which he said came with a $1.5 billion industry exit package and an ongoing $72 million annual bill to hire the same harvesting contractors for bushfire prevention and suppression.
“These decisions have also done nothing to dampen demand for our most sustainable building material – timber,” he said, warning that the NSW move would only increase imports, which now make up 46% of solid wood used in building products. “In a housing crisis, where one‑third of the timber needs of the average one or two‑storey detached home comes from hardwood timber, FWCA believes the last thing governments across Australia should be doing is locking up any more managed native forests,” Dobbyns said.
He added that the Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) had provided the government with several size and impact options for the park that would have allowed it to meet its election commitment without destroying the timber industry. “The industry respects the Government’s election promise to create the GKNP, but the second part of their election promise was to do so in a manner that maintained a viable, sustainable timber industry,” he said.
“We know the science shows koalas are unaffected by our highly regulated, sustainably managed timber harvesting operations, and by which side of the National Park/State forest boundary they live on, so we provided the Government with various options so they could fulfil both election commitments. It’s unfortunate that they have ignored that advice and taken the worst‑case scenario, which will likely cost NSW upwards of $1.25 billion.”
