How Barilaro’s Brumby Bill of 2018 is coming back to divide the NSW Coalition

3 months ago 21

A bill to repeal protections for the thousands of remaining wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park introduced by former deputy premier John Barilaro in 2018 is driving a wedge between the Coalition as Liberal MPs indicate they will support the effort despite opposition from the Nationals.

Liberal backbenchers Aileen McDonald and Robert Dwyer said they were inclined to support the bill while former treasurer Matt Kean and former planning minister Rob Stokes both urged the party to repeal the legislation.

Feral horses gather at Long Plain, part of the High Plains area in Kosciuszko National Park.

Kean went as far as saying the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act, also known as the Brumby Bill, was a “mistake of potentially historic proportions”.

Introduced by Barilaro in 2018 to recognise the cultural significance of brumbies in the south-west NSW national park, the bill mandated protecting a “heritage herd” of feral horses but sparked uproar because of the environmental damage the introduced species caused.

Provisions within the bill that prohibited culling, including aerial shooting, meant the population of brumbies rocketed until amendments in 2023 allowed lethal means. The number of horses dropped to between 1579 and 5717, according to a government survey in May.

Wagga Wagga independent MP Joe McGirr’s Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Repeal Bill 2025 was due to be debated in parliament this week but will probably be delayed. The Coalition’s shadow cabinet has not yet considered the bill, and neither have either of the parties’ caucuses.

Feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park.

In May, a petition with 11,000 signatures calling for the repeal of the Brumby Bill was debated in parliament.

In an email obtained by the Herald, Dwyer’s electorate office says the recently elected Liberal MP has informed Opposition Leader Mark Speakman he would support McGirr’s repeal bill.

“I have authority from Rob to tell you that he does not believe that feral animals have any place in our environment and that he supports the removal of these, so that our native animals can flourish,” the July 31 email stated.

The Port Macquarie MP was contacted for comment.

McDonald, who served as a committee member on the inquiry into the proposed aerial shooting of brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park, said she was “inclined to support the bill” but would follow the lead of opposition environment spokesman James Griffin and the party room.

“I have seen the damage caused by wild horses on a visit to Mount Kosciuszko; the science and evidence to support repealing the bill is there,” she said. “The majority of my Liberal Party colleagues will be of a similar view to me.”

Nationals upper house MPs Wes Fang and Nichole Overall said they supported the existing Brumby Bill. Fang said he was opposed to McGirr’s bill, adding the original legislation recognised the cultural significance of wild horses and no one in the Liberal Party had articulated their changed position.

“I would oppose the bill. I don’t know why the Liberal Party are voicing their support for it given the party was clear in its support of the original bill being passed through both houses,” he said.

Overall said the agreement that underpinned Barilaro’s original bill had been nailed down after years of “work, consultation and research”. With the estimated feral horse population in the national park half the legislated figure of 3000, she argued the repeal was an “unnecessary move”.

“I would hope everyone would be fully informed about what it took to reach this point, why we reached this point and why we need to allow this to work as we intended it to do,” she said.

Stokes, who was minister for education when Barilaro’s legislation passed, said wild horses were “clearly incompatible with our alpine environments” and it was time to “humanely euthanise Barilaro’s Brumby Bill”.

“The parliament was told that the Brumby Bill would ensure that wild horses would be managed. It is clear that the legislation has failed to manage wild horse numbers,” he said. “Barra’s Brumby Bill was supposed to achieve a balance: on that score, the legislation has failed badly.”

The office of Nationals leader Dugald Saunders was contacted for comment. Barilaro was also contacted for comment.

Speakman said: “The bill has yet to be introduced and second read. Once available, the bill will be considered by shadow cabinet and party room.”

Kean, a former Liberal environment minister now chair of the Climate Change Authority, said the passage of the Kosciusko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018 was a “mistake of potentially historic proportions”.

“Repealing the act now will limit the damage and give nature a fighting chance to recover. We set aside regions such as the delicate alpine swamps of Kosciusko for protection because they are unique, irreplaceable and precious,” Kean said.

“Letting heavy exotic animals run wild in the park is pushing endangered native species to the brink.”

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