Nationals MP pushes to allow logging of huge river red gum forest

Some of the largest river red gum forests in New South Wales would be opened up for logging if a private members bill from the Nationals’ MP for Murray, Austin Evans, wins support.

In what would be a first for New South Wales, Evans is pushing to reverse the national park listing for the 41,0000 hectare Murray Valley national park, which includes the largest contiguous forest of river red gums and several endangered species.

Whether he has the support of his own side remains to be seen. The bill is unlikely to reach a vote before the state election in March.

But the issue could prove dangerous for the Coalition.

The environment and climate change were key issues in the Wentworth byelection, which saw a huge swing against the Coalition.

Locally Evans is under pressure from the Shooters and Fishers party over jobs and the future of the logging industry.

Evans narrowly won the seat in a by-election in October 2017, after the longstanding member, Adrian Piccoli resigned. The Shooters and Fishers came within a whisker of securing the seat, after a swing of 13% against the Nationals.

But trying to placate voters in one area could come at a cost with urban voters who put environment high on their lists of concerns.

In a muted response, a spokesman for Gabrielle Upton, the minister for the environment, said: “ It will be treated like any other private members bill.”

The premier’s office declined to comment on whether the Coalition would support the delisting.

But Labor’s environment spokeswoman, Penny Sharpe, said Labor would “not support any bill that overturns any of our national parks.”

“With the weakest environment minister in NSW history, it is clear that national parks are under sustained attack,” she said.

“This action comes on top of their attacks on national parks through the Kosciuszko Wild Horses Bill and the law passed this week that will allow the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains national park to be flooded by raising the Warragamba Dam wall.

The National Parks Association’s senior ecologist, Oisin Sweeney, said the river red gums were a community in great need of preservation.

“Only 5.53% of Riverina bioregion is protected compared to the international target of 17% for each region,” he said.

The national park represents 10% of the protected area in the Riverina and is home to several significant endangered species, including the superb parrot and a carnivorous possum-like creature called the brush-tailed phascogale, he said.