NSW river budget boost needs to be met with reserve commitments

The Wilderness Society (Sydney) Inc
Media Release
28 May 2008

The Wilderness Society today welcomed the New South Wales Government’s plans to buy back water rights within the Murray-Darling Basin, but warned that, unless steps are taken to protect the River Red Gum Forests of the region, the move would be purely symbolic.

“With up to 75% of red gum trees in the region stressed, dead or dying due to water regulation and climate change, the forests are in desperate need of water” said Peter Cooper, Campaigner for The Wilderness Society. “However, that is only half the story. The New South Wales Government is currently allowing destructive practices, such as clear patch felling for low value products such as firewood, fenceposts and railway sleepers, to continue within the forests”.

“It is a disgrace that these internationally recognised forests are being destroyed” continued Mr Cooper. “Forestry NSW is currently operating within the Red Gum Forests without having prepared an Environmental Impact Statement and the area is the only major forested region in the State to have not had a regional assessment”.

In Victoria, the plight of the Red Gum forests has led to a government assessment process that is recommending 100,000 hectares of new National Parks. But in NSW there has been no similar process and there is not a single national park along the Murray in NSW, leaving the region one of the most poorly reserved in the country.

Home to many endangered species and migratory birds and of vast importance to the local indigenous peoples, the forests have already gained international recognition, being listed within the Ramsar Treaty. The Wilderness Society has been campaigning for new national parks to be created, in consultation with traditional owners, across the region.

“Over 1000 postcards calling for new national parks in the forests, signed by community members, were delivered to the Premier yesterday” said Mr Cooper. “The New South Wales Government must urgently commit to delivering new national parks to these already stressed forests”.