The Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) has entered into a Deed with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) after admitting to illegally clearing 1.44 hectares of Bindarri National Park near Coffs Harbour in 2019 and 2020.
As part of the Deed, FCNSW will have to restore the illegally cleared area to the standard of a national park, as well as pay $500,000 to purchase land, or transfer an agreed area of state forest, for gazettal as national park.
Bindarri National Park is on the tentative World Heritage List and is within the area of the planned Great Koala National Park. Since the clearing, Bindarri has been further protected as an asset of intergenerational significance for its koala population.
The felled trees included Flooded Gum trees. The clear felling of the site has also resulted in broader impacts such as weed invasion.
NPWS believes the Deed agreement will result in better outcomes than could have been achieved through prosecution.
Under the terms of the Deed, FCNSW has agreed to:
- Acknowledge its breach of the National Parks and Wildlife Act1974.
- Pay $500,000 to NPWS to purchase forested land for inclusion in the national park estate or facilitate the transfer of an agreed-upon area of existing State Forest to NPWS (in addition to anything transferring as part of the Great Koala National Park process).
- Fund the implementation of a remediation plan, as directed by the Secretary of DCCEEW.
- Implement staff training and develop a protocol to avoid future breaches.
Quotes attributable to Secretary of DCCEEW Anthony Lean:
"Clearing of vegetation in national park is a very serious offence. The Deed imposes significant obligations on Forestry Corporation to ensure we get a better outcome than would have been secured through litigation.
"By entering the Deed, Forestry Corporation has admitted the consequences of its actions and will fund critical restoration projects to reverse the damage caused to the national park. Additional protocols must be put in place to ensure such a breach is never repeated"
