Now designated to be part of the Great Koala National Park
A lovely gathering organised by the Forest Advocacy Ministry and FEA with Welcome to Country by Aunty Alison Ballangarry, a Gumbaynggirr Elder, who lived very close by as a child. Shis is very busy protecting and promoting Gumbaynggirr culture and Country.
‘When the tree exhales that’s what we need, and when we exhale that’s what the tree needs, so we’re one of the same, we have the same DNA as the tree. The logging has to stop today. It just cannot go any longer. It’s killing our songlines.’
The forests now need healing, weeding and care as Mark Graham emphasised. He has recently been in jail for breaching bail conditions, following his arrest for protesting at the Forestry Corporation offices.
So we rejoiced with music and a song and food, but also knew there is more work to be done. Bollanolla Range Forest within Newry State Forest, north-west of Valla Beach, was removed from the assessment area by the NSW government and is not included in the final park proposal. Yet it is important habitat for koalas and greater gliders. And there are other important gaps, the fight goes on.
