WHAT started as a query into the possibility to collect firewood from Yanga National Park near Balranald has turned into a fight by locals and the formation of action group Yabba for Yanga to be able to work and preserve the 1,932 hectare reserve.
Formerly an important pastoral station, Yanga station was purchased by the NSW Government in 2005 for the creation of a national park, and officially became a one in 2007.
But the committee of Yabba for Yanga, led by retired accountant Andy Millar, believe the property has deteriorated at a severe rate since it was turned into a national park.
“There are 255 national parks in NSW, and Yanga is being managed by the government in accordance with its alphabetical listing in my opinion,” Mr Millar said
“It was supposed to provide an enormous tourism boost, but it has actually provided very little for them, and it’s created some problems with the potential fire risk, the erosion of pastoral heritage, and also the fact there is not a lot of employment where there could potentially be employment.”
The advocacy group’s name was inspired by famous cricket fan Stephen Harold Gascoigne, whose reputation for heckling international cricket teams at the Sydney Cricket Ground earned him the nickname Yabba. The term also comes from the Aboriginal word meaning to talk.
“For nearly 18 months we’ve been writing to governments, making submissions to various bodies, talking to government departments via Skype interviews,” Mr Millar said.
“We’ve made a lot of progress but not much traction.”
Independent MP Helen Dalton and shadow environment minister Penny Sharpe attended the inaugural meeting Yabba for Yanga last Wednesday. Ms Dalton believes that there are currently many opportunities going to waste there.
“When people in Sydney hear about the creation of national parks, it makes them feel good,” Mrs Dalton said.
“But the reality is this government just lock them up and leave them.
“Allowing locals to manage the park would be a win for everyone.”
Mr Millar also believes by allowing locals to maintain the park, it would provide a great economic boost for the whole area while helping to eliminate the fire risk and restore Yanga to its former glory.
“It generates money for not only the people cutting the wood, but the improvement to the pastoral assets of Yanga,” Mr Millar said.
“Any money that is generated generally goes around in a multiplier effect five to seven times before it leaves the community.”
While Yanga is technically managed by National Parks, Mr Millar said the fight of the action group was not with those caretakers, as “they are local people doing their best on a shoestring budget”.
“We see risks and we see opportunities, and we see that one can be working with the other and have a good result,” Mr Millar said.
“We are trying very hard to move what we see into a reality.”
