Tamara Smith MP, Member for Ballina requests an end to Native Forest Logging and Koala Protect in the Legislative Assembly
Ms TAMARA SMITH (Ballina) (14:49): I thank the member for Vaucluse for mentioning the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital. I also mention the Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital and Bangalow Koalas, and I give a shout-out to Maria Matthes. She is a koala whisperer in Meerschaum Vale. The Ballina koala colony is a unique colony that was impacted by the Pacific Highway Upgrade despite the fact that the former Government spent millions of dollars on fencing, which was not what was asked for and did not work. Maria has done incredible work there, and I was pleased to work with the World Wildlife Fund and others to get Maria some cameras to help improve her work because, after the fires, it was very grim indeed.
There is no world in which I would be talking down the member and the Minister for the $2 million funding boost for the Port Stephens Koala Hospital. I note that the member for Port Macquarie is in the Chamber, and she was also a champion of the environment and koalas in her former roles. We cannot on the one hand be talking about delivering protection for what is now an endangered species, while on the other we continue to log our native forests. It should be no surprise that I will focus on that now. I also put on record that The Greens were very disappointed that there was no ongoing funding in this budget for any wildlife services in my electorate or more broadly. The Minister has assured me that she is looking at how to do that equitably so that it is consistent, ongoing and recurrent, but we cannot wait too much longer. We need that work to happen.
If people think The Greens are the only ones who want to see an end to logging of the native habitat of this endangered species, let me tell them that seven out of 10 Australians support extending the bans on native forest logging in this State. A majority of voters for each political party support an end to native forest logging in New South Wales and Tasmania. A majority of Australians in every age group support ending native forest logging in New South Wales. There is nothing new under the sun when it comes to understanding that you cannot save a species if you are destroying its habitat. I say to Labor, get on with the program of the Great Koala National Park, which everyone wants you to deliver. Please deliver it, and please stop logging. As a party, Labor needs to work out how it is going to justly transition forestry workers and save our koalas. It cannot do both. I believe we are in the dying days of that. The Greens support the motion, but we issue some very strong instructions from the environmental movement.