🟡 A koala park update
Including: Multi-million dollar council projects made digestible.
Ellie Chamberlain
September 10, 2025
⏱️ The 60th edition of our newsletter is a 6-minute read.
🙋♀️ Hey Mid North Coasters, it’s Ellie.
👏 We’re so close to reaching 14,000 subscribers!! Exciting times. Welcome to all the newcomers and a huge thanks to everyone following along.
This week’s newsletter we’re talking about the announcement of the Great National Park’s boundaries, as well as a halt to logging in the area. The park looks set to be huge, taking up a big chunk of the northern parts of our state.
If you’re a Wingham resident (or live anywhere near there) you might also have noticed construction works taking place on the water supply pipeline. This was badly damaged during the May floods and will need replacing. I’ve put together the full cost and timeframe in an article below, as costs now rise beyond $6million.
Finally, Port Macquarie’s Glasshouse was in the news again — as Port council discussed the cost of the entertainment hub. It raised an interesting question: when it comes to arts and culture, do you think our community investment is about more than making a profit?
I’ll also share another vox pop video from my visit to Taree where I asked residents on the street what they think is an issue of the area. Potholes were a hot topic!
🗞️ Alright, let’s jump in…
“The Glasshouse is making a significant loss which means the community is saying ‘yeah we like it, but not that much. Not as much as it’s costing’.”
🎟️ WHAT’S ON THIS WEEKEND
SATURDAY, 13/09/25 | Fashion Parade, Macksville
SATURDAY, 13/01/25 | Spring Fair at The Lost Plot, Port Macquarie
SUNDAY, 14/09/25 | Kempsey Crescent Head SLSC open day
LOOKING AT LOCAL COUNCILS
Questions asked of $2.5 million operating costs for Port Macquarie's Glasshouse
The cost of running Port Macquarie’s Glasshouse entertainment hub is in the spotlight once again, as a $2.5 million contribution by council continues to concern councillors.
➡️ The 2009 opening of Port Macquarie’s arts and entertainment hub, the Glasshouse, was clouded in controversy. A public inquiry in 2007 by the then-Minister for Local Government, Paul Lynch, found the cost of the entertainment hub had blown out from initial estimations of $6.7 million in 2002 to $41.7 million, resulting in the council and its mayor being dismissed.
➡️ A council staff report found the arts, culture, leisure and entertainment centre cost the council more than $2.5 million ($2,535,616) to operate during the past financial year.
➡️Speaking to the Mid North Coaster, Henshaw said the Glasshouse “ran an operating loss of $2.5 million last year, and ratepayers had to bail it out by that amount”. A Port Macquarie-Hastings Council spokesperson told the Mid North Coaster the amount equates to around $31 per resident per year.
🗞️ Read the article here.
Replacement of Wingham water pipeline after major floods now expected to cost $6.5 million
Ongoing work to restore the Wingham water supply pipeline damaged in the May floods is now estimated to cost $6.5 million to complete – with the budget blowing out by $2.4 million.
Works to restore water supply are expected to be completed in December this year, more than six months after the damage.
So, why is it costing so much – and what’s taking so long?
➡️ In May, the primary pipeline connecting Bootawa Dam with the service reservoirs in Wingham was severely damaged where it crossed the Manning River.
The pipeline was broken in three places, unexpectedly cutting off supply to the town's reservoirs, and deemed unrepairable during the heavy rain and record-breaking flood event. Instead, the pipeline will need to be replaced.
➡️ After the floods, local and specialist contractors were engaged to carry out investigations to refine the scope of works to replace the damaged pipe.
Within 10 days of the flood, an access road was constructed and road maintenance was carried out to cater for the increased construction traffic and large vehicles required to deliver drilling equipment and pipework.
All the investigation works were carried out over a six-week period with the total cost about $360,000, including internal staff costs for project and contractor management.
➡️ In June, a council staff report provided cost estimates totalling $4.1 million for the project, based on bore length and pipe diameter needed to drill through the riverbed.
🗞️ Read the article here.
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🐨🪵 A stop to logging and boundary outlines: What’s next for the Great Koala National Park?
📢 What's the update? On Sunday, National Threatened Species Day, the NSW Government announced the proposed boundary of the Great Koala National Park (GKNP), alongside a plan the government said would support impacted timber workers, and a pledge of additional funding to establish the park.
The GKNP was a Labor Party election promise, and Labor has been in power since 2023.
🗺️ The proposed boundaries: The Labor government confirmed the park will reserve 176,000 hectares of state forest.
Including existing national parks, the park’s creation will reserve 476,000-hectare of bushland.
Without action, koalas are on track to be extinct in the wild in NSW by 2050.
“Koalas are at risk of extinction in the wild in NSW – that’s unthinkable. The Great Koala National Park is about turning that around,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said in a statement.
The NSW government said the park will protect more than 12,000 koalas, 36,000 Greater Gliders and habitat for over 100 other threatened species.
🪵What’s happening with the timber industry? The government has imposed a temporary moratorium effective Monday (8 September 2025) on timber harvesting within the proposed park boundary.
According to the NSW government, the suspension of harvesting will impact six timber mills in the region – approximately 300 jobs.
💰What about job support? The government announced assistance for impacted workers and businesses, including JobKeeper-style payments to cover salaries, and financial assistance towards business operating costs.
Workers and their families will also have immediate free access to mental health, financial and legal counselling services and training support.
📋 What’s next? The final creation of the park is dependent on the successful registration of a carbon project under the Improved Native Forest Management Method, which is currently moving through the Federal Government assessment processes.
The government said it did not intend for the park to end forestry on the North Coast.
The Independent Forestry Panel is continuing to provide advice to the government to inform the Forestry Industry Action Plan.
🎤 WHAT’S AN ISSUE IN YOUR AREA?
I met MNC residents on Victoria St in Taree to ask them questions about the area, including what are some local issues? I heard from people living in Taree, Wingham and Hallidays Point. Here’ what they had to say…
Thanks fore reading! I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. I’ll be back with another one on Friday morning.
In the meantime, you can follow along via Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, or check the website for daily content Monday to Friday.
Cheers,
Ellie
P.S. here’s a little something extra for you.