New South Wales cleared the final hurdles for a national park protecting habitat for about 12,000 koalas.
178,000 hectares of state forest and Crown land are joining a 475,000-hectare protected landscape.
On October 23, New South Wales said Parliament had passed legislation clearing the final hurdles for the Great Koala National Park. The plan adds 178,000 hectares of state forest and Crown land to create a protected landscape of more than 475,000 hectares, estimated to support about 12,000 koalas and more than 100 other threatened species.
WHAT HAPPENED
The legislation establishes the path to transfer 176,000 hectares of state forest plus 2,000 hectares of Crown land into the national-parks system. The state says it has also secured federal approval related to the park carbon project, created worker-transition support and begun recruiting 100 National Parks and Wildlife Service roles. The park is scheduled to open before the end of 2026.
WHY THIS IS HOPESLOP
This is unusually concrete conservation progress: a very large connected habitat moves from proposal toward durable legal protection, while the transition includes jobs and community investment. The honest limit is that designation creates the conditions for recovery; long-term koala outcomes will still depend on management, funding and enforcement.
ORIGINAL SOURCENSW GovernmentRead the original report
A DAILY ALLEGATION OF PROGRESS.
One good thing from the internet, every day. Nothing else.
MORE HOPESLOP
Ten more scarlet macaws are flying free near La Ceiba, Honduras.
The October 26 release brought the local 2026 total to 26 in a landscape where wild macaws had been absent for decades.
Malawi now reports its September measles-rubella campaign reached more than 5.8 million children.
The final WHO update says the nationwide drive met its target, including remote island and river communities.
South Korea's renewable-energy capacity surpassed coal for the first time.
Renewables reached 41,040 MW on October 21—283 MW more than coal.