Uncategorized – National Parks Association of Queensland

Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Charter for Connection, But Don’t Forget Protection

Eungella National Park

Last week, the Charter Letters for the 18 ministers making up the new Queensland Cabinet were released. Premier and Minister for Veterans, David Crisafulli MP, has tasked his frontbenchers with delivering ‘The Right Plan’ for Queensland and has reiterated his government’s key commitments: safety where you live health services when you need them respect for […]

Conservationists ‘Dismayed’ at LNP Push for Cableway in World Heritage Area

Springbrook National Park

24 October 2024 A coalition of environment groups has rejected attempts by LNP leader David Crisafulli to breathe life into a tourism development proposal in Springbrook National Park that was rejected by the Beattie Government years ago. In a Courier Mail story today, Mr Crisafulli was quoted as backing a cableway in the Gold Coast […]

New Report Card for Queensland’s Protected Area Strategy

Daintree NP with report card overlaid

On 20 September, the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) released its annual report card on progress towards the state’s Protected Area Strategy 2020­–2030 (PAS). The third report card produced so far, it covers an extended period from 1 October 2022 to 30 June 2024, aligning it with other governmental financial year reporting. NPAQ’s […]

NPAQ Welcomes Promise of 150 New Rangers

NPAQ’s CEO Chris Thomas was recently invited to comment on the Queensland LNP’s election promise to add 150 new park rangers to help manage the state’s protected areas under the More Rangers, Better Neighbours policy. Park rangers undertake a complex range of daily tasks throughout national parks worldwide. NPAQ believes that increasing the number of […]

12 Simple Ways to Support Biodiversity this September

September is Biodiversity Month

At NPAQ, we celebrate biodiversity every day of the year, but September is Biodiversity Month, and Saturday 7 September is Threatened Species Day, bringing a special focus on keeping our environments flourishing for the benefit of our species and others. Our planet teems with life – whether marine creatures, plants, animals, fungi or microorganisms – […]

Introducing Two New Parks – and Additions to Eighteen More…

The Lakes National Park - Image by Jarrod Boord TNC

Queensland’s National Parks grew by two today, with eighteen parks throughout Queensland also receiving a boost in size. The new additions are: The Lakes National Park (Flinders Shire), new estate – 43,260 ha Malbon Thompson Range National Park (Cairns), new estate – about 620 ha Former grazing property The Lakes was acquired by the government […]

Two New Nature Refuges Added to Protected Area Estate

Boomerang Lagoon on Abingdon Downs.

Two additions to Queensland’s Protected Area Estate have been announced, increasing protected areas to 8.6% of the State’s area.   The Albanese Government is providing $3 million to the Queensland Miles Labor Government through the Protecting Important Biodiversity Areas Program to support two nature refuges and future additions to Queensland’s private protected areas. The project […]

Nature Positives in the Budget …

We all know that money doesn’t grow on trees, but it can certainly help grow and protect some. NPAQ’s CEO Chris Thomas has scoured the State Government’s newly released budget to reveal the wins for nature and national parks. Typically, conservation spending risks getting short shrift in national and state budgets, but recently we have […]

Ecotourism in National Parks: Working Side by Side for People and Parks

The recently released Queensland Government’s Towards Tourism 2032 plan aims to double the state’s tourism overnight expenditure to more than $44 billion annually by the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “So where are all these extra tourists going to go” asks NPAQ CEO Chris Thomas. The answer, of course, lies in careful consideration of new […]

Be Part of ‘Generation Restoration’ on World Environment Day

This year’s theme for World Environment Day, 5 June 2024, is Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience, with the slogan “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.” Outside of icy Antarctica, Australia is the driest continent on earth – 70% of Australia’s land mass is either arid or semi-arid land. Such parched aridity makes Australia […]