In response to public outrage, Premier Chris Minns and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe today announced that 5% of the proposed great koala national park would be protected from logging.

Others suggest it is better than nothing, with Sophie Scamps, MP, saying in a statement today that “The news that logging in"koala hubs” will cease is a win for koalas and all other species that call these forests home, for the local tourism industry and for local Indigenous communities who have campaigned strongly against the destruction of this crucial habitat.

There were 106 koala hubs identified in 2017 as having evidence of hi density populations, which make up the 5% of the park which thegovernment have designated as not to be logged.

An estimated 30% of koalas on the mid-north coast died in the Black Summer bushfires, up to 30% of their habitat destroyed.

To add insult to injury, “Logging native forests in NSW is a loss-making exercise. Over the last two years, the NSW Government has subsidised the native forest logging division of NSW Forestry Corporation to the tune of $30 million just to keep it afloat,” according to Sophie Scamps.