Brumbies at Currango Plains in the Kosciuszko National Park. Photo: Supplied.
The NSW Government has ruled out repealing the controversial Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act, despite mounting pressure from conservationists and thousands of petitioners who argue the law protects feral horses at the expense of endangered wildlife and fragile alpine ecosystems.
Introduced in 2018 by the former Coalition government, the act recognises wild horses — or brumbies — as having “heritage value” and mandates their ongoing presence in the park.
It has long faced criticism from scientists, environmental groups and the public for giving legal priority to an invasive species over native biodiversity.
Independent MP for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr recently tabled a petition with more than 11,000 signatures in parliament, calling for the legislation to be scrapped.
Dr McGirr described the act as “an artificial construct that goes against logic”, and said it enshrined protection for an invasive species that “trample wetlands and pollute waterways”, compact soil and contribute to erosion.
“They are large, hard-hoofed animals without natural predators and they live in an environment that has not evolved to cope with them,” he said.
“Would we legislate to protect foxes, goats or pigs in our national parks? Would it make any sense to have a ‘Kosciuszko Wild Pig Heritage Act?'”
While acknowledging the cultural and emotional attachment many Australians had to brumbies, Dr McGirr said environmental reality must take precedence.
Responding on behalf of NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe, Member for Bankstown Jihad Dib reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reducing the brumby population to 3000 by 2027 under the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan (KNP WHHMP).
A 2023 National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) survey estimated around 17,000 wild horses in the park. Mr Dib said 9036 had been removed since late 2021, with more than 1000 rehomed.
Preliminary 2025 estimates put the population at around 3000.
While thanking the petitioners, Mr Dib said repealing the legislation was not currently a government priority.
“The NSW Government does not consider repeal of the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018 to be a priority at this time,” he told the chamber.
Shadow Environment Minister James Griffin said protecting the park’s unique ecosystem must come first, and backed regular independent reviews to ensure horse management remains humane and based on best practice.
“Science and data must lead the way to ensure Kosciuszko National Park thrives for decades to come,” he said.
Several Labor MPs supported repealing the act including Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle who called the legislation “reckless and short-sighted”, and said repeal was “not off the table”.
Monaro MP Steve Whan labelled the act “an appalling piece of legislation”, saying he would have opposed it if he had been in parliament when it passed.
While acknowledging that many of his constituents supported brumby protections, Mr Whan said the act was at odds with the conservation purpose of a national park.
Greens MP Kobi Shetty echoed that view, calling the legislation incompatible with protecting the park’s biodiversity and water systems.
“This bizarre plan does nothing to protect this precious, pristine and unique environment,” she said.
In closing, Dr McGirr thanked supporters of the petition and emphasised the need to prioritise science over sentiment.
“Taking in all of today’s speeches together … there is a clear direction that we need to take: we need to continue to work for the repeal of this act,” he said.
Afterwards, Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough said the lack of opposition during debate showed a major political shift.
“Not a single opposition voice spoke in parliament — that alone shows how far the politics has moved,” he said.
Mr Gough noted support for repeal from Dr McGirr, the Liberals, Greens and senior Labor ministers, including Monaro MP Steve Whan.
“The ridiculous Barilaro law was never based on science — it was a political stunt to protect a population of destructive feral horses in Australia’s fragile alpine national park,” he said.
“Barilaro was on his own when this act came in, and now that he’s out of parliament, it has no friends — apart from a few fringe voices in the Upper House,” he said.
The law mandates 3000 brumbies remain in the park — animals Mr Gough says are “trashing and trampling” ecosystems, posing risks to drivers and polluting the headwaters of the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers.
“There are clearly the numbers in parliament to overturn this bad law. We now need Premier Minns to step up and make it happen,” he said.
However, brumby advocate and former Monaro MP Peter Cochran said the government must now adhere to the legislation it had chosen to uphold.
“First and foremost, they’re obliged to report population numbers in a timely fashion,” he said. “I don’t know how they can claim to be sticking to the plan when they can’t even do that.”
Mr Cochran argued that Snowy 2.0 construction work was pushing horses out of retention zones into areas where they were being targeted and said the management plan should be revised accordingly.
He also called for greater local input into the plan, rather than relying on “city-based bureaucrats”.
