Today this House has the chance to make history. The National Park Estate (Great Koala National Park Reservations) Bill 2026 delivers the Great Koala National Park. This park has been in the works for more than a decade. It is a commitment that the Minns Labor Government made, clearly and firmly, when it was elected in 2023. With this bill, it is a commitment kept. Koalas are an internationally recognised icon of our country and an irreplaceable part of our identity. But koalas are not just a symbol of Australia; they are a species in crisis. Habitat loss and the impact of climate change have placed koalas under serious threat. The science tells us that without decisive action, they could disappear from the wild in our State by 2050. This bill is the decisive action that we need to take. It is a declaration that this Government will not stand by while one of our planet's most iconic and beloved animals slides into extinction.

The bill reserves more than 178,000 hectares of State forest and other Crown land on the Mid North Coast as part of our national park estate. Joined with the reserves already around it, it creates a protected landscape of more than half a million hectares, stretching from Kempsey to Grafton, and inland to Ebor. It will protect more than 12,000 koalas and more than 36,000 greater gliders. It will protect habitat for more than 100 other threatened species as well, the spotted-tailed quoll, the rufous scrub-bird, the pouched frog and the superb fruit‑dove among them.

With precious mammals, giant trees and native orchids found nowhere else in the world, these forests are a global biodiversity treasure. They are also an important climate refuge. As our climate warms and other habitat becomes less suitable, this landscape will matter more, not less. Its corridors run east to west and climb from the coastal lowlands, up the escarpment, to the New England Tablelands. Those links will let species move, breed and adapt for generations to come. When I last spoke about this park in this House, I shared the words of Vanessa, a passionate local in my community. She told me that the area was essential for creating a well-connected, resilient and diverse park that could support a future for koalas and other flora and fauna. She and many of her neighbours asked our Government to finish the assessment, gazette the park and protect this critical wilderness forever. I am so proud to tell Vanessa and the many active members in my community—and, indeed, across the State—that this bill does exactly that.

The bill reserves these lands under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. It uses a mix of reserve categories, national park, regional park, nature reserve and Aboriginal areas to balance conservation, culture and recreation. It preserves existing lawful interests—including leases, licences and permits—and allows minor boundary refinements for a limited time, with safeguards that prevent any significant reduction to the park. The bill prohibits timber harvesting in native forest excluded during the boundary process. It keeps plantations outside the park and protects access to them, because a sustainable plantation timber industry matters to the North Coast, and it links commencement to approval of the park's carbon project.

Subject to the passage of this bill, the park is expected to open before the end of the year. Far from being locked up, these forests will stay open for everyone to enjoy. The park will be a place of learning, where locals and visitors alike can experience the wonder of our native landscape firsthand and understand why it is so worth preserving. The Government has committed $140 million to establish and manage the park. That will fund new campgrounds, walking tracks, mountain bike trails and lookouts. The bill even allows rally events on existing roads in regional parks, recognising the long history of rallying in the area.

We know the park will bring an additional 85,000-plus interstate and overnight visitors to the region each and every year. That is an investment of more than $163 million for the local economy. It will anchor the Mid North Coast for generations to come. The park will also create 100 new National Parks jobs. Those staff will deliver stronger fire management, feral animal and weed control, and ecological rehabilitation. We know that change is difficult and transitions do not come without their challenges, but only Labor governments are able to effectively balance the needs of conservation with those of working people and bring together conservation movements, industry representatives and government to find solutions that put in place protections that generations ahead will be thankful for. That is exactly what the Government is doing here.

The worker support package was developed in conjunction with workers. Affected workers can receive top-up redundancy of four weeks base pay for every year of service, capped at $150,000. Workers over 45 will receive a further three weeks pay per year of service, capped at up to $50,000. There will be $9,000 for retraining and up to $45,000 to relocate for new work, with free access to mental health support, financial counselling and peer support. As the union has said, this package is more than twice the best enterprise agreement and up to four times the award. The bill also allows Forestry Corporation employees to move into National Parks and Wildlife Service roles. We represent and respect those communities, and we will support them every step of the way.

The Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti people helped shape decisions about the Great Koala National Park, and they will continue to guide how the park is managed. Joint management arrangements are being developed. For the first time in our State, eight Aboriginal rangers will be employed within Aboriginal community controlled organisations. Fifteen per cent of national parks roles in the park will be identified positions, and Aboriginal businesses will be engaged. The new reserves carry names in language, telling every visitor whose country they stand on.

In 1982 the Wran Government made a bold and visionary decision to protect the rainforests of our State. At the time it was met with enormous resistance, but history has judged it as one of the greatest environmental achievements of our country's history. Under Premier Carr, Labor led the largest expansion of the national park estate in our State's history, protecting more than two million hectares and creating or expanding more than 300 national parks and reserves, from the Pilliga to the Goulburn River. The Great Koala National Park stands proudly in that same Labor tradition. It is a once-in-a-generation decision.

It has been a very long campaign. I acknowledge the work of the many passionate individuals and groups who have brought us to this point today. I recognise the frustrations of everybody along the way who fought so hard for the park, including the Knitting Nannas, the North East Forest Alliance, the National Parks Association, the Nature Conservation Foundation, the Great Koala National Park campaign, local businesses and so many more. Close to 4,000 people made submissions or completed surveys for the park. The Indigenous community and industry advisory panels gave their advice throughout and helped shape the bill and, importantly, the Great Koala National Park. The bill is about choosing protection over exploitation and science over short-termism. It is about choosing a legacy for our children and grandchildren. As the Premier has said, we do not want our kids to look back in a few decades and ask why we did not act. With this bill, they will not have to. I commend the bill to the House.