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New NSW role a model for First Nations-led land management

The Invasive Species Council welcomes the NSW government’s move to establish an Aboriginal Healthy Country Assistant Commissioner within the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), with recruitment now underway. 

The Council calls on all states and territories to follow suit by establishing similar roles, while also urging the federal government to create a national Commissioner for Country – enshrined in law, to strengthen First Nations leadership in protecting Country for future generations.

‘This NSW model is a step forward which other states, territories and federally should follow – it’s an important recognition that Indigenous knowledge and leadership are key to caring for Country, as we have done for thousands of years,’ Invasive Species Council Indigenous Ambassador and Voice of Country campaign lead, Richard Swain said. 

‘Invasive species are one of the biggest threats to Australia’s native animals and plants. They don’t just damage Country – they threaten culturally significant species, waterways and sacred places. This new role will help ensure Indigenous voices and Country herself are heard in tackling these challenges.

‘Aboriginal people have always been a dignified voice when it comes to land management. If we’re serious about healing Country, we need to go further. A permanent Aboriginal Commissioner for Country would ensure that First Nations leadership is not just included but embedded in law – with the independence and resources to drive real change. 

‘The Assistant Commissioner will be an important advocate for the respect of Country and we look forward to working with them. This role must tackle invasive species head-on. We can’t protect Country if we don’t address the threats that are pushing so much of our wildlife to the brink.

‘With momentum building, we’re also calling for a Federal Commissioner for Country – a national role that puts Country first by bringing all Australians together in accepting the responsibility of custodianship. 

‘There is a real opportunity here – NSW can lead the way in showing how Indigenous respect and knowledge for Country and modern conservation can come together to protect what’s left. 

‘We have a choice – the decade of healing Country, or the decade of watching more species disappear. Let’s make the right one.’

Applications are now open here.

Media inquiries: (02) 8006 5004

Images and videos of invasive species for media to use are available here.

Background:

  • The NSW Natural Resources Commission supported the establishment of a First Nations Land and Sea Country Commissioner to improve invasive species management in NSW as part of its preliminary NSW Invasive Species Management Review, released in September 2024. 
  • The review recommended:
    • Supporting the creation of a First Nations Land and Sea Country Commissioner, who will represent Aboriginal people involved in natural resource management, including invasive species management, at senior levels of the NSW Government.
    • Building a network of Aboriginal staff across various agencies to drive change, share opportunities and provide a representative forum to engage with communities and decision-makers. 
  • The recommendation followed strong advocacy from the Invasive Species Council and the Voice of Country campaign, alongside other Indigenous leaders from key environmental organisations, calling for federal and state-level Caring for Country Commissioners to enhance natural resource and invasive species management.

About Voice of Country:

Giving voice to the soil, animals and species that evolved here. Voice of Country recognises the role of First Nations people is central to solving Australia’s conservation challenges. The project aims to build awareness, ecological knowledge, advocacy skills and practical community capacity for the management of Country.

As a result, they are calling for the urgent appointment of an Indigenous Caring for Country Commissioner to ensure a dedicated and permanent voice for the protection and health of Country.

Related Content

Voice of Country
Richard Swain, Voice of Country program manager, in Kosciuszko National Park
Thank you for signing the Voice of Country Memorandum of Understanding
Richard Swain, Voice of Country program manager, in Kosciuszko National Park
Voice of Country Pledge

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Your support to protect critically endangered and vulnerable species from extinction is vital. Together, we can ensure governments prioritise action on invasive species and protect our wildlife and iconic places.

The Invasive Species Council was formed in 2002 to seek stronger laws, policies and programs to protect nature from harmful pests, weeds and diseases.

The Invasive Species Council acknowledges the Traditional Custodians throughout Australia and their connections to land and sea. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

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Dear Project Team,

[YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your email address]
[Your postcode]


Dear Project Team,

[YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your email address]
[Your postcode]