NSW LABOR pledges to create a big new national park on the North Coast to protect koalas.
The Great Koala National Park would be established on the Mid North Coast if Labor was elected to government in the March state election, Mr Foley said.
More than 170,000 hectares of State Forested would be combined with 140,000ha of National Park to form a 315,000ha koala reserve, stretching east from from the Macleay River near Kempsey to Woolgoolga, on the coast.
Mr Foley said the policy, modelled on China’s panda reserves, was needed to protect plummeting koala numbers, which are under serious threat from urbanisation, disease and dog attacks.
“Something serious needs to be done and it cannot be token. I don’t want to tell my grandchildren that my generation allowed the koala to disappear.
“NSW should be leading the nation in the creation of national parks explicitly to protect our remaining koala populations.
The policy would cover an area estimated to contain 20 per cent or 4500 of NSW’s remaining wild koalas.
Labor's policy document said impacts to the forestry industry from the loss of State Forest would be limited.
Further negotiations may be required to determine compensation and assistance packages for those affected by the new National Park, Labor said.
