2026-06-19
A plan to create the Great Southern Forest National Parkwill be launched in Eurobodalla today. The National Parks Association of NSW along with community supporters will unveil the plan that would protect nearly 1.2 million hectares native forests on public land between the Illawarra and the Victorian border, representing a connected protected area five times bigger than Australia’s Capital Territory.
Greens MP, Solicitor and spokesperson for the environment Sue Higginson said
“It’s exhilarating to see the decades of work by hundreds and thousands of dedicated experts and community members come together in this Great Southern Forests National Park Proposal. This is a moment of hope and vision for communities from the Illawarra to Eden and will benefit the entire Country. I haven’t seen something this positive for nature since the plan for the Great Koala National Park was first revealed some 16 years ago,”
“The Great Southern Forest National Park will be one of the largest connected conservation landscapes in Australia, bringing together 55 forests, 24 flora reserves and 98 existing National Parks into a protected area that will serve the community, nature and our economy forever,”
“The proposal would protect more than 10,000 hectares of threatened ecological communities, support 12 endemic and 4 critically endangered flora species, and protect 61 threatened animal species, including the Yellow-bellied Glider, Swift Parrot, Southern Greater Glider, Spotted-tailed Quoll and Southern Brown Bandicoot,”
“Industrial scale logging of our public forests on the NSW South Coast is coming to a rapid end. Our high value timber products come from plantations, not our native forests. The millions of public dollars currently being spent to prop up the failing native forest logging industry can not be justified any longer. It should be redirected, and invested in the future of nature protection and public good,”
“The Great Southern Forest National Park, added to the soon to be declared Great Koala National Park in the North, are the necessary steps to protect our precious public native forests of NSW. Labor has been talking big on ‘nature positive’ for years, but it is now time to genuinely act. The Greens have stood with the community and nature and in support of this proposal, and it’s time for Labor to take up the call,”
“There is something uniquely special about standing alongside 80 representatives from across the community, calling for a historic investment in the future of the South Coast public native forests. Traditional Owners, conservation organisations, scientists, local residents, and elected representatives, coming together like this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get the Great Southern Forests National Park protected,” Ms Higginson said.