Nannas not giving up on Pine Creek Forest despite the bulldozers, hope for southern forests, climate compensation fund one step closer and holding Yancoal accountable.
Pine Creek Forest
Forest protectors in the Bellingen area moved into action quickly when Pine Creek’s listing on the Forestry Corporation’s website changed to ‘Active’ in mid-June. The onsite camp was re-established and plans made to resist the logging.
Pine Creek Forest is designated by the authorities as a ‘plantation’ and has been logged in the past. But it is a diverse forest with many old trees, so it’s no wonder it has the largest koala population on the North Coast.
Community members have fought hard to save Pine Creek for decades because it forms a corridor for koalas and other species to move from the coast to the tablelands. The corridor is critical to the long-term survival of koalas because it facilitates their free and safe movement and leads to gene-mixing of different populations, contributing to genetic strength.
The Gumbaynggirr elders and community, who oppose the logging, have been involved in little consultation.
Activists maintained a blockade of the forest until Tuesday 23 June when the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry loggers arrived with heavy machinery. The resistance included a tree-sit and locking on to heavy machinery. The National Parks and Wildlife officer who read out the direction to leave was extremely disrespectful of Gumbayngirr Elder, Aunty Allison Buchanan.
Soon after the activists were taken into custody, the loggers began clear-felling the forest.
But community activists, including the Coffs Harbour Knitting Nannas, are not giving up. They are contacting Premier Minns, Agriculture Minister Moriarty and Environment Minister Sharpe asking them to stop the logging and give the forest ongoing protection.
To support the campaign, go to the Coffs Harbour Knitting Nannas or Friends of Pine Creek Facebook pages for suggestions of what to include in phone calls and letters.
The Great Southern Forest Proposal
The proposal by the National Parks Association for the Great Southern Forest is well-researched and data driven. It aims to protect a 100-kilometre-wide corridor from the Illawarra to the Victorian border. It encompasses 55 State Forests, 24 Flora Reserves and 98 reserves managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. No private land is included in the proposal.
Nearby communities have come together to protect their patch, then joined in with neighbouring communities and the National Parks Association. The more connectivity the better for endangered wildlife.
The proposal calls for the end of native forest logging in State Forests adjacent to national parks and the addition of these forests to the parks.
The proposal will ensure that existing businesses, like bee keeping and oyster farming, are better off. Recreation and tourism can be better organised and managed knowing that they will no longer be disrupted by logging. Some parks will be zoned Regional Parks with permits available to allow dog walking and horse riding. The variously zoned parks and reserves will be connected and cover almost 1.2 million hectares.
A joint management arrangement with local First Nations communities and National Parks is proposed.
Let’s do this!
A Once in a Generation Opportunity – (National Parks Association of NSW)
Climate Compensation Fund – Make Polluters Pay
Sydney Nannas are participating in a campaign for a federal climate compensation fund to be set up to help local councils and shires to cope with the increasing costs of damage caused by extreme weather events. The campaign is being led by Tipping Point in partnership with 350 Australia.
The campaign had its first win when the National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra passed the motion calling on the federal government to find a way for coal, oil and gas corporations to help fund disaster relief, mitigation and adaptation, and to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the adequacy of the 2025 national adaptation plan.
Some councils have passed their own motion calling for the big polluters to pay. But more councils need to pass polluter-pays motions to show that this issue is important nationwide and that the federal government needs to act.
A planning and training session will be held in Sydney on Saturday 18 July 9.30 – 4.30pm at Redfern Town Hall, 73 Pitt Street Redfern. Register here
“It’s costing us so much:” Councils vote for polluter-pays climate compensation fund Renew Economy
Councils back polluter-paid climate compensation fund (The Canberra Times)
Moolarben Underground Coal Mine
The NSW Government has approved the latest extraction plan for Moolarben Underground 4 mine near Mudgee. This pushes longwalls into the most fragile section of The Drip and Goulburn River Gorge, despite critical groundwater and ecological data still being missing.
Yancoal admits damage to The Drip cannot be offset, yet monitoring is left to the mine without independent oversight. This risks a Juukan Gorge-style disaster.
The monitoring for this mine should be transparent, in real-time, and publicly reported. Yancoal is entirely in charge of monitoring the mine, which is like the ‘fox guarding the henhouse’. A halt to mining must be enforced if conditions are breached.
The decision is made so Yancoal must be held accountable. Send a quick message to NSW Ministers.
The Little Nannas
The Little Nannas reckon the world is upside down and think people would be much happier if they followed in the footsteps of traditional custodians and took mutual responsibility.
Nannas are watching
The Warragamba Dam Plan by Cool the County provides clean water and much more of it, restores farmland and ecosystems, captures carbon and saves the average Sydney ratepayer around $700 a year.
Senator Pete Whish-Wilson speaks on the unprecedented political rise of One Nation on foreign websites. These websites generate hundreds of deepfake AI slopaganda posts that flood Australian social media — all promoting One Nation.
Nannas are listening
Climate Community 26 June 2026 re Forests. Annie Close interviews Nanna Chris Degan from Coffs Harbour about protecting forests.
Nannas are reading
Breaches, a book by Miriam Pepper and Jason John, is a history of NSW Forestry Corporation breaches. (Forestry Advocacy Ministry)
What will it take to phase out fossil fuels (Climate Council)
Woodside’s controversial Browse gas project open to public scrutiny (Australian Conservation Foundation)
Australia’s newest political party — Community Strong Australia
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