110 Mid North Coast Business Leaders stand united calling for the Minns Government to honour their promise and for the full 176,000-hectare Great Koala National Park to be immediately gazetted.

Click here to view the statement or read on below:

As business proprietors depending on the world-class, forested landscapes of the Great Koala National Park (GKNP) we respectfully and in good faith request that the Minns Government immediately honour their promise to gazette and protect the entire 176,000-hectare GKNP.

We recognise the essential values of the publicly owned forests of our region that:

1. Sustain our economy;
2. Sustain our people; and
3. Ensure a safe future; particularly by providing water security, a stable climate, and for nourishing and sustaining the agricultural, horticultural, tourism and fisheries industries and all nature conservation (life support system protection/rewilding) endeavours of our regional community.

We are deeply concerned about these values being harmed and degraded by logging in the Great Koala National Park. Below we detail the costs associated with continued logging and the benefits and opportunities in calling for an immediate end to logging within the boundary of the GKNP.

Water Security Impacts & Associated Public Funding Costs

We recognise that the forests of the GKNP provide water security to all major communities and industries in the region via the Coffs-Clarence (Shannon Creek/Nymboida), Coffs (Orara) and Nambucca water supply schemes. We recognise that water security is essential for all businesses in our region. We are deeply concerned by pollution of the Coffs-Clarence Regional Water Supply catchment and the immense public cost ($65 mill) to install a filtration plant to filter sediments from the regional water supply and that this major additional cost must be borne by the community at the expense of other public benefit expenditure.

Tourism Assets & Promotion

We highlight that almost all promotion of our region is of the clean and healthy natural environment, with forests, clean rivers and clean beaches all used for promoting the GKNP region. We wish to keep these values intact and where possible to improve them.

Negative Cost Burdens & Imposts of Logging

Logging and clearing (as well as burning and poisoning) being done by Forestry Corporation across large swathes of our local public forest estate is directly impacting on the entire economy by removing and degrading our most valuable tourism asset. This causes major compounding losses for all in our region.

Recognised Costs to the Business Sector:

1. We recognise that the logging of our forests causes losses for our community and the state;
2. We understand that the Forestry Corporation NSW is a major economic loss-making enterprise for us and our Government. We acknowledge that $29 million of NSW taxpayer money was lost last year alone logging our globally significant native forests;
3. We recognise that Forestry Corporation NSW do not pay Council rates and that their usage of heavy vehicles, plant and machinery on Council roads (for loss making logging operations) causes disproportionate damage to local roads that must be addressed and resourced by the local authority and costs borne by local businesses and the local community.

The Need for Repair to Build Lasting Economic & Social Benefits:

1. We recognise that there is a great need to repair forests across the GKNP damaged by extensive logging of the public forest estate.
2. We recognise that areas affected by fire, dieback, erosion and drought also require restoration works.
3. We recognise that converting from forest destruction to forest protection and restoration creates immediate benefits to our economy and our society.
4. We recognise that there is a great need and opportunity to invest in and rapidly build our natural capital industries and that landscape repair is a win-win with lasting and positively compounding benefits for all other industry sectors such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries.

Imminent Clearfell Logging at Never Never, Pine Creek & Tuckers Nob State Forests

We are very concerned about proposals to imminently clearfell large areas of existing forest cover between Bellingen and Coffs Harbour at Pine Creek and Tuckers Nob State Forests and around the Promised Land that are contained within the boundary of the GKNP. These areas sustain amongst our most popular, valuable and cherished community assets and tourist drawcard places at the Never Never. Maintaining all existing forest cover in this landscape is essential.

All publicly owned forest cover and Koala habitats in these areas must be protected from logging to ensure maintenance of their tourism drawcard value, to protect water quality and to prevent any harm to the biggest coastal Koala colony in NSW that we know depends on these public forests remaining standing.

Sincerely,

Kombu Wholefoods
The Happy Frog
Hearthfire Bakery
The Belfry Accommodation
Ozgreen
Bite Food Tours
Emporium Bellingen Department Store
Liberty Providore
Bellingen Brewing Company
Friday Creek Retreat
Rainbow Creek Accommodation
Bellingen Nature Tours
Jetty Dive
C-Change Kayaks
Coffs Critters
Chris Fish Ventures
Spirit of the Rainforest Accommodation
Mt Christopherson Estate
Wildlife Preservation Clarence Valley
Darkwood Construction Company
Fox and Dove Boutique
Weave
Ziggys Wild Foods
Halfcut Environmental Organisation
Bonville Nursery Native and Waterwise Plants
Schimminger Architects
Biodiversity Doctor
Ecological Restoration Strategies
Hewlett-Hunter Environmental Pty Ltd
3D Ecology Mapping
Sustainable Earth Projects Ltd
Hydeout Co-working Space
Mountains to Sea
Coffs Harbour Bushland Regeneration Group Pty Ltd
Dr Lachlan Copeland Botanical Consultant
Peter Richards Ecological Consultant
Envirofactor
Ashtons Retreat
The Bales at Birdsong
Solar Powered Homes
People of Place Regenerative Real Estate
James Kerley Auctioneer
Fulcrum Designs and Staging
Bush Grazing
Karen Raven Steininger Filmmaker
Jane St Vincent Welch Filmmaker
Diavoletto Woodfired Pizza
Congarini Vale Farm
North Beach Farm
Birdsong Farm
Narlu Farm
Rantan Partnership
Sunday Gelato Co.
Kickstart Motorcycle Tours
Coffs Harbour Beekeeping Supplies
Vallafornia Flowers and Produce
Flowers Nambucca
Petal and Vine Flower Farm
Coastal Curves Surf Shop
Nambucca Valley Organics
Happy Valley Landscapes
Timothy Nott Licenced Builder
Shade Lover Nursery
Andthetrees Photography
Sarah Mufford Artist
Girl Nomad Ceramics
Rudy Kistler Artist
Drew Hopper Photographer
Calumn Hockey Photographer
Harmonia Singing Circle
Taranta Arts Inc
Laura Targett Musician
Joe Newton Music
Otis Suffolk-Lyons Musician
Milou Hoffman Photography
Stuart Scott, Photographer
Ellika Dattilo Music
Fineart by JB
Jane Adams Mosaics
Art.by.Zara
Anna Wallman Artist
Pelicans Landing Garden Centre
Alan Kaali Native Plant Wholesaler
Blue Rock Rainforest
Canines for Wildlife
Dingo Conservation Solutions NENSW
Bellingen Nature Company Private Conservation Reserve Network
Bello Food Box
Nature Philosophy Australia
Rekindled Collective
The Wild School
Mindfulness Psychology and Wellbeing
Joelle Naturopathy
Medicise Medical and Health
Live Inclusive Feel Empowered Support
Amy Moon Holistic Health and Massage
Wilderness Yoga
Bikram Bello
Katie Allwood Massage
Lowen Taylor Yoga
RJK Optometry
Hibiscus Soul Massage
Crystal Rose Yoga
Gaia Forest and Gaia Farm
A Lush Forest Media
Caitlin Hockey Celebrant
Peter Hanson Gardens
The Medicine Grove
Vertex Trees
Treehouse Arboriculture

Our 110 businesses come from the following areas surrounding the GKNP: Bellingen, Sawtell, Billys Creek, Bonville, Bowraville, Brierfield, Coffs Coast, Coffs Harbour, Coramba, Dorrigo, Dorrigo Plateau, Emerald Beach, Eungai Creek, Grafton, Grassy Head, Kalang, Kempsey, Korora, Lowanna, Macksville, Moonee, Mylestom, Nambucca Heads, Nambucca Valley, Nana Glen, North Coast, Thora, Promised Land, Raleigh, Repton, Sandy Beach, Sapphire, Sawtell, Scotts Head, Thora, Upper Orara, Urunga and Valla.