Overview

• The Minns government outlined boundaries for a 476,000-hectare reserve by adding 176,000 hectares of state forest to existing parks on the Mid North Coast and ordered a logging moratorium starting Monday.
• State officials say the park will safeguard more than 12,000 koalas, about 36,000 greater gliders and over 100 other threatened species in old-growth and high-biodiversity forests.
• The pause will affect six timber mills and an estimated 200 to 300 jobs, with JobKeeper-style wage support, business assistance, mental-health and financial services, and priority placement in new NPWS roles offered.
• Funding commitments include an additional A$60 million for park establishment on top of A$80 million already allocated and A$6 million for regional tourism, with projections of A$163 million in economic benefits over 20 years.
• Final gazettal will follow a federal decision on registering a forest-protection carbon project, as new ACF analysis reports record 2025 approvals to clear roughly 4,000 hectares of koala habitat and widespread unassessed clearing since 2011.