Steve Whan
Member for Monaro

MEDIA RELEASE

National Parks expand in Southern NSW to protect quolls and koalas

Thursday, 22 January 2026

The Minns Labor Government has acquired more than 2,000 hectares of biodiverse land in Southern NSW to better protect threatened species including koalas, spotted-tailed quolls, and hooded robins.

Merriangaah Nature Reserve, just outside Bombala, will be expanded by more than 1,000 hectares, adding the missing link to create a continuous wildlife reserve of nearly 6,7000 hectares by connecting its northern and southern sections.

This is great news for the reserve's most iconic residents, spotted tailed quolls, whose home ranges can extend up to 4,000 hectares. Their habitat will now be protected in perpetuity.

The area also supports threatened woodland birds like the hooded robin and flame robin, as well as the critically endangered Monaro Tableland Cool Temperate Grassy Woodland and the vulnerable silver-leafed gum (eucalyptus pulverulenta).

The acquisition will enable more holistic landscape management, improving bushfire resilience and the effectiveness of strategic pest and weed control.

The Macnally State Conservation Area, east of Cooma, will grow by 30 per cent thanks to another addition of 1,031 hectares.

The property lies within the Southern Tablelands Koala Priority Population Area is estimated to provide habitat for at least 121 koalas, enhancing connectivity across the landscape for koalas and other threatened species.

The expanded Macanally state Conservations Area will now also protect two Threatened Ecological Communities, the Monaro Tableland Grassy Woodland, and the Natural Temperate Grassland.

The NSW Government continues to expand the National Parks estate by prioritising the acquisition of landscapes that are underrepresented in the reserve system.

The NSW national parks system totals almost 7.67 million hectares, or 9.57 per cent of NSW.

Member for Monaro, Steve Whan said:

"By expanding these south-east National Parks, we are strengthening protection for species and complex ecosystems found nowhere else on earth.

"Not only do these National Parks provide enjoyment for visitors, but they also safeguard endangered eucalyptus, native mammals, and woodland birds.

"These areas will be managed for their biodiversity forever, for future generations, and I am proud that the decisions we make today will have such a lasting impact on NSW's environment."