Countering the attack on NSW wilderness and protected areas

Since the 2006 National Wilderness Conference there has been significant progress in wilderness, wild river and national park reservation in NSW. When the O’Farrell Government was swept to power in March 2011, however, the Shooters and Fishers Party strengthened their hold on the balance of power in the Legislative Council, with dire consequences for the natural environment, tourism and national parks. The wild places of New South Wales, like those in Victoria and Queensland, are suffering from a redistribution of political power toward those whose interests are resource extraction and property development. This change is producing deregulation, euphemistically called ‘cutting green tape’. The O’Farrell Government has opened NSW national parks to hunting and is cutting public involvement in planning and focusing on growth. Proposals for logging and grazing in national parks are even being discussed in an Upper House Inquiry into public lands. Nature is under attack. Conservationists need to redouble efforts to passionately re-engage with the public to support the enduring values of national parks and inspire community-based defence of natural areas.