As at July 2010, there were 315 national parks comprising 8.13 million hectares of land in Queensland.

The former State Government committed to increasing this area of national park estate to 12 million hectares by 2020 (an increase of 58 per cent over 12 years). At the same time, the Australian 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; and

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

Useful links

• Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
• National Reserve System
• Queensland Parks and Forests