Environmental Activism Australia

Nature Conservation Council NSW

Our belief in the power of collective action is central to everything we do. We know we are strongest when we work together.

Anyone and any group that wants nature in NSW to thrive is welcome to join us, either by becoming a member group, an individual supporter, or a donor.

Together we can change the status quo and win the protections nature needs and deserves. Join us today!

What we are fighting for

NSW is home to an astonishing variety of plants, animals and living landscapes, from our forests and woodlands to our deserts and oceans.

This kaleidoscope of life includes almost 5,500 species of plants and animals, many of which exist nowhere else on the planet.
State of play

Sadly, this intricate web of life is fraying under pressure from climate change, industrial development, deforestation and exploitation.

In a little over two centuries, 75 species have become extinct in NSW and 1000 more – about 20% of all the species – face the same fate unless we act. Koalas and 60% of all native mammals – our gliders, quolls, and rock wallabies – are under threat.

On land, the destruction of wildlife habitat by 200 years of deforestation and land clearing is the primary threat.

Almost 40% of the state’s native bushland has been cleared, and only 9% of what is left is thriving, most of it in national parks and reserves.

At sea, marine life is suffering from over-fishing, water pollution and a tsunami of plastic. And now climate change is multiplying the threats, both on land and at sea.
But we have hope

While the challenges are daunting, we have hope. There are many instances where humanity has applied its intelligence, tenacity, and compassion to solve seemingly insurmountable problems.

We know that nature faces threats on many fronts, but we have confidence that by working together we can turn things around. We have done it before and we can do it again.

Conservation Council

Conservation & Protection

State

New South Wales

14/338 Pitt Street, Sydney

1955

Fighting for nature since 1955

Before the Nature Conservation Council of NSW formed more than 60 years ago, nature in this state was pillaged on an industrial scale.

Land clearing was uncontrolled, rainforests were clear-felled, wildlife was being decimated, and mining companies recklessly destroyed our extraordinary wild places. Before NCC, there was no National Parks and Wildlife Service, no Environment Protection Authority, no Land and Environment Court, and no marine parks.

The achievements of the environment movement in NSW over the past six decades are a tribute to the hard work, vision, and tenacity of the many thousands of people who have had the courage to be a voice for nature.

Here is a summary of some of the milestones achieved by the environment movement in NSW. While we were involved in many of these campaigns and victories, we do not claim credit for them. These are the achievements of the collective action of many individuals and organisations working together for a better world.

1955: Founded on July 2 at a meeting in Phillip St, Sydney

1957: National Parks Act drafted by NCC
National Parks Association of NSW founded

1961: Katoomba and District Wildlife Conservation Society founded (Blue Mountains Conservation Society)

1963: Last Eastern Quoll sighted on mainland Australia

1967 : NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act passed, National Parks and Wildlife Service founded

1968: Colong Foundation for Wilderness founded

1970: Campaign to end tax breaks for native vegetation clearing starts

1971: Battle for Kelly's Bush in Hunters Hill starts

1972: Total Environment Centre founded

1973: NSW rainforest wars start (1973-1984)

1974: NSW Environment Centre established

1975: Colong Caves protected

1976: North Coast Environment Council formed

1977: Premier Wran bans sand mining

1979: NCC Bushfire Program starts
Battle for Terania Creek
Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979
Land and Environment Court established

1983: Kelly's Bush is saved

1984: Premier Wran bans rainforest logging

1985: NSW Environment Defender’s Office established

1986: Urban bushland protections enacted
NSW rainforests inscribed on the World Heritage register

1987: NSW Wilderness Act 1987
NCC acquires its first desktop computer (second-hand from TEC)

1989: Save Jervis Bay campaign begins
Eden woodchip mill blockade begins
First director of NCC appointed (Haydn Washington)

1991: Environmental Liaison Office formed
First marine reserve (Solitary Islands)
Chaelundi State Forest Blockade
Environment Protection Authority (EPA) established

1994: First NCC Bushfire Conference after bushfires burn out 800,000 hectares
Jervis Bay naval base proposal dropped

1995: Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995
Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1995
NCC launches its website

1997: NCC representatives appoint to key committees under Rural Fires Act 1997
Marine Parks Act 1997

1999: Regional Forest Agreements 1999-2001 (Eden, north-east, southern)

2000: The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage listing

2001: NCC’s first Regional Environment Conference (Newcastle)

2002: NCC sustainable living program begins (Cool Communities)
Campaign against burning native forests for power starts
Grey nurse shark campaign begins

2003: Native Vegetation Act 2003

2005: NCC Hotspots program is established
Walks Against Warming begin
The South East Region Conservation Alliance Inc. (SERCA) is formed

2006: Adopt A Shark program launched
NSW Environment Awards launched
Campaign to stop Tillegra Dam in the Hunter Valley begins

2007: Grey nurse shark court case (NCC, EDO)
20% of NSW coastal waters protected in marine parks
Walk Against Warming attracts 140,000 participants

2008: Musician Jack Johnson promotes Adopt a Shark at Sydney concert

2009: 1000 households register for NCC Climate Challenges

2010: River Red Gum Parks declared
Government abandons Tillegra Dam proposal

2011: Campaigns for better planning laws begins
Climate campaign starts targeting coal and gas projects

2012: NCC Firesticks program begins
Better Planning Network established
Hunting in national parks proposal
Koala listed as vulnerable to extinction in NSW

2013: NSW Planning Bill defeated
Hunting in national parks proposal defeated
NCC’s Low Income Energy Efficiency Program (NCC) begins
Land Water Future is formed

2014: Campaign for Sydney marine park ramps up
Campaign to end native forest logging ramps up
Government proposes scrapping Native Vegetation Act and Threatened Species Conservation Act

2015: 1000 households benefit from NCC Low Income Energy Efficiency Program
CSG licences scrapped after community campaigns
Campaign for Great Koala Park launched

2016: Government scraps the Native Vegetation Act and Threatened Species Conservation Act

We take inspiration from our past wins. Since we were formed in 1955, we have driven the expansion of the state’s national parks system, which now protects millions of hectares of precious bushland and wildlife habitat on land and at sea.

We have helped formulate laws that preserve our unique native plants and animals and protect stunning landscapes and wildernesses areas. We have been the driving force behind better bushfire management, new measures to control pollution and deforestation, and strong laws that protect the water we drink and the air we breathe.