NSW government purchases largest ever acquisition for national park

The NSW government has announced a 437,394 hectare site between Tibooburra and Bourke would become the third largest national park in NSW.

It comes after the government purchased a number of properties across far west NSW in 2021.

Pastoralists' Association of West Darling (PAWD), who has been representing the interests of pastoralists in the far west of NSW since 1907, are concerned this was just another example of removing agricultural land from production.

"The acquisition of a number of stations in the far west by the NSW government for the purpose of adding them to the National Park estate has come to the Association's attention," PAWD spokesman Lachlan Gall said.

Mr Gall said the acquisition of these properties by the NSW government had united the local community in disbelief and anger with calls for it to disclose how much it paid for the land.

"Vendors are fully entitled to extract as much value from their property sale as they possibly can and no one has an issue with that, but there are questions as to whether the taxpayers of NSW are getting value for money out of these recent purchases," he said.

In 2021, Mr Gall said PAWD wrote to then Environment Minister Matt Kean about their concerns when several large stations were purchased and their sentiment had not change.

"The buying activity of the NSW government in far west NSW has prevented a number of pastoral families from purchasing properties," Mr Gall said.

"This outcome has crushed many young aspiring pastoralists who no longer believe that buying their own property is within their reach.

"There are also serious questions about the capacity of NPWS to manage these new parks, and whether economic activity generated by additional tourist visitation will ever get anywhere close to replacing the loss of income from agricultural production."

Premier Dominic Perrottet said it was the largest ever single parcel of land to be acquired for the national park estate in NSW.

"It will provide yet another reason for people to venture out and explore this part of the state, driving tourism dollars in the region and at every stop along the way," he said.

Environment Minister James Griffin said the acquisition of Thurloo protects globally significant wetlands, vast outback ecosystems, and provides a haven for about 50 threatened species.

"Securing a site this big for addition to our national park estate is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the people of NSW," Mr Griffin said.

"Protecting a property of this scale in perpetuity means we conserve bigger populations of more species, including some of the most endangered."

He said when combined with the adjacent Narrieara-Caryapundy National Park and the Sturt National Park, national parks now protect an almost completely connected area of about one million hectares west to the South Australia border.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will engage additional staff to manage the property and deliver $4 million in capital works to support park management and visitor infrastructure such as campgrounds, day-use areas, observation points and outback driving routes.

It will use the next two years to ramp up feral animal and weed control as part of the largest ever feral pest control program in NPWS history, undertake ecological surveys and plan visitor infrastructure while the property transitions from pastoral station to national park.

Thurloo, together with neighbouring Narriearra-Caryapundy National Park, hosts a significant portion of the Bulloo Overflow floodplain, which is a huge wetland at the end of one of Australia's last free-flowing rivers, the Bulloo.

After rains, these wetlands support hundreds of thousands of birds, fish and other animals, including mass communal nesting events for pelicans, egrets and terns.