AGFORCE

National Parks

As at June 2008, there were 282 national parks comprising 7.6 million hectares of land in Queensland.

The State Government has committed to increasing this area of national park estate to 12 million hectares by 2020 (an increase of 58% over 12 years).  At the same time, the Commonwealth Government has stated that it aims to increase the National Reserve System – including national parks – in northern and remote Australia by at least 4 million hectares a year.

AgForce supports:

• a considerable increase in annual funding to enable the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS)to manage the national park estate at a similar standard to that expected of neighbouring landholders.   This should include additional funding for effective fire management, control of feral animals and declared weeds, boundary fencing, consultation with neighbouring landholders, and the maintenance of a permanent workforce within remote national parks

• the development of management plans for all Queensland national parks

• a renewed effort to establish good neighbourly relations between the QPWS and private landholders.

Contact details
Wendy Brownscombe
Project Manager, Protected Areas
AgForce Queensland
PO Box 13186
North Bank Plaza, Qld, 4003
Phone: (07) 3236 3100
Fax: (07) 3236 3077
Email Wendy   

Useful links
Department of Environment and Resource Management
National Reserve System
Queensland Parks and Forests