The ADA responds to the Draft NSW National Parks Establishment Plan 2026
The Australian Deer Association (ADA) has prepared a detailed submission on the Draft NSW National Parks Establishment Plan 2026, defending the interests of recreational deer hunters and the principle that publicly owned land should remain accessible to the public.
The draft plan will guide the future growth and refinement of the NSW national park estate, including government decisions about acquiring land and changing its tenure. Public consultation closes at 11.59 pm on Monday 12 October 2026.
ADA supports the protection of genuine conservation values. Properly established, adequately funded and actively managed reserves can make an important contribution to conserving Australia’s natural and cultural heritage.
However, changing the tenure of public land is not, by itself, a conservation outcome.
Where land is transferred from State forest or another form of public ownership into the national park estate, activities previously undertaken on that land can be prohibited or substantially restricted. For recreational hunters, that can mean the permanent loss of access to places in which licensed hunting has been safely and responsibly conducted.
With further additions to the national park estate being considered, the consequences for public access cannot be treated as an afterthought.
Conservation need—not political convenience
ADA’s submission calls for a clear threshold to be met before any change in land tenure proceeds.
A proposal to create or expand a national park should be supported by transparent evidence that the change is necessary to protect identified environmental or cultural values and that it will produce an additional, properly funded conservation benefit.
ADA opposes changing land tenure primarily to satisfy political commitments, meet numerical reservation targets, respond to public campaigns or create the appearance of stronger environmental protection.
National park status should never be used as a substitute for funding, active land management or difficult policy decisions.
Before transferring land into the national park estate, the NSW Government should publicly demonstrate:
Alternative conservation mechanisms and reserve categories should also be considered where they can protect environmental values without unnecessarily extinguishing compatible public access.
Hunting access should not disappear automatically
When a tenure change is justified, the starting point should be that existing lawful recreational access continues unless there is credible, site-specific evidence that a particular activity is incompatible with the values being protected.
Licensed public land hunting should be assessed on its actual impacts and benefits—not excluded through assumptions about what activities “belong” in a national park.
Regulated recreational hunting can support environmental management by helping reduce the impacts of wild deer and other introduced animals. Hunters also contribute extensive field knowledge, volunteer effort, surveillance and reporting from areas that may otherwise receive limited management attention.
ADA’s submission therefore recommends that the final plan:
The submission also identifies Kosciuszko, South East Forest, Mount Imlay and Wadbilliga national parks as suitable candidates for assessing carefully regulated hunting trials.
Such trials could incorporate accreditation, defined hunting areas or periods, mandatory reporting, monitoring and independent evaluation. This would allow policy to be guided by evidence rather than predetermined opposition.
Why this matters to ADA members
Access to public land is essential to the future of recreational deer hunting.
If land on which hunting is currently permitted is progressively transferred into categories where hunters are excluded, the practical result will be fewer places to hunt and greater pressure on the public land that remains available.
This is not only an access issue. Removing responsible hunters can also mean losing a capable and motivated group of people who are willing to contribute to wildlife management, hunter education, field observations and conservation work.
ADA represents approximately 7,500 members nationally, including around 1,700 members in NSW through seven active branches. Our branches regularly deliver hunter education and help members understand their safety, ethical and environmental responsibilities.
Our members have a direct interest in how public land is classified, managed and made available for responsible recreation. They also possess knowledge and experience that should be used when decisions are made about wild deer and public land management.
Our position
ADA is not arguing that every parcel of public land must be open to every activity.
We are asking the NSW Government to apply a transparent, evidence-based process and recognise that conservation and responsible public access are not inherently incompatible.
Where a new national park is genuinely necessary, that decision should be clearly justified, properly funded and accompanied by an objective assessment of existing land uses.
Where hunting can continue without compromising identified conservation values, it should continue.
Public land should not cease to be meaningfully public simply because its administrative classification changes.
Members and supporters can also review the draft plan and make their own submission through the NSW Government consultation website before 11.59 pm on Monday 12 October 2026.
